A concert film on agrarian justice directed by Charleston musicians Rodrick Cliche and Benny Starr of Native Son will be presented at the Pan African Film Festival 2021.
The festival, which runs from February 28 to March 14, features a spectrum of creative works and films by visionaries that highlight the diverse stories of black America, Africa and the global black diaspora.
“Restoration: A Concert Film” by Native Son is among 225 films from 52 countries in 26 languages that will be presented at the virtual festival.
The poster for “Restoration: A Concert Film”, which is being shown at the 2021 Pan-African Film Festival.
The film was originally released last year on June 13, a holiday that celebrates the emancipation of slaves in the United States.
Done over a 10-day period in early June, “Restoration: A Concert Film” includes musical performances on the Charleston Music Hall stage interspersed with interviews with members of the Black Southern community about past and ongoing struggles for agrarian justice.
The footage of the main interviews with South Carolina farmers Willie Head Jr., Eddie Slaughter and Carl Park was provided by Acres of Ancestry, a nonprofit initiative that promotes ownership of land in custody, management and economic development in the south.
Starr and Cliche then sought out additional voices from members of the black community, from poets to pastors, to share the struggles of their ancestors to obtain land in the South, and the connections between land ownership and education, the right to vote, political influence and power .
The film also discusses the Black Farmers’ Call: Cancel the Pigford Debt Campaign, a popular legal defense campaign that addresses a class action for racial discrimination by black farmers against the United States Department of Agriculture that has resulted in debt and threats from foreclosures.
Eddie Slaughter is one of the South Carolina farmers who appears in “Restoration: A Concert Film”. Provided
The decades-old farmer-led organization, with efforts intensified over the past three years, laid the foundation for reconciliation legislation, including the 2021 Black Farmers Justice Act and the 2021 Color Farmers Emergency Relief Law. the latter would provide $ 4 billion in relief payments to black, indigenous and Hispanic farmers to help them pay off USDA farm loan debt and related taxes.
“Being able to lend our artistic efforts to this campaign has given us a heightened sense of purpose and a deeper connection with the elders,” said Starr. “And being able to witness such a critical moment for them, on a long continuous journey towards justice, is really an indescribable feeling.”
Starr’s “A Water Album”, which explores the socioeconomic issues that impact blacks in Lowcountry, from floods to gentrification, is featured in the concert portion of the film. As well as his and Cliche’s song “The Land”, released in May.
“I’m going back to the land where my grandmother and grandfather built a house,” says Starr. “I’m going back to the land they stole from the family, Imma put the whole South on.”
“As we immersed ourselves in the stories of black farmers and the work of Acres of Ancestry, we were able to create ‘The Land’, which allowed us to curate a list of records, arrangements and textures that raised these stories and also illuminated the connection of the Black experience, “said Starr.
Acres of Ancestry played a key role as researchers and executive producers on the film. Mixing, scoring and editing were led by Cliche.
In addition to the Pan African Film Festival, “Restoration: A Concert Film” was selected by the Queens Underground Film Festival, the Seattle Black Film Festival, the Rhode Island Black Film Festival and the inaugural Greenwood Film Festival.
“We are really sitting with immense gratitude,” said Starr.
Individual tickets to the virtual Pan African Film Festival cost $ 8.49, while a full access pass costs $ 325. For more information, go to paff.org.
Catch up Kalyn Oyer at 843-371-4469. Follow her on Twitter @sound_wavves.