Film Screening + Director Q&A: 100 Years from Mississippi
Join us for an in-person screening of the award-winning documentary film "100 Years from Mississippi" followed by a Q&A with the director and producer Tarabu Betserai Kirkland on Friday, Feb. 2, from 1–3 PM at OLLI HQ (1995 University Ave, Suite 365, Berkeley.) The film is a true story of resilience, forgiveness, memory and hope.
About the Film
Mamie Lang Kirkland still remembers the night in 1915 when panic filled her home in Ellisville, Mississippi. Her family was forced to flee in darkness from a growing mob of men determined to lynch her father and his friend. Mamie’s family escaped, but her father’s friend, John Hartfield, did not. He suffered one of the most horrific lynchings of the era.
Mamie vowed to never return to Mississippi – until now. After one hundred years, filmmaker Betserai Kirkland, Mamie’s youngest child, takes his mother back to Ellisville to tell her story, honor those who succumbed to the terror of racial violence, and give testimony to the courage and hope epitomized by many of her generation.
About the Filmmaker
In addition to directing and producing the multiple award-winning "100 Years from Mississippi", Tarabu Betserai Kirkland is also the author of the musical “Jukebox” starring Danny Glover and the stage play “Ritual of a Bop Solo.” He also served as General Manager of radio station KPFK-FM in Los Angeles and Assistant Manager of KPFA in Berkeley.
[in-person only • free and open to all]