Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story

Last updated
Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story
Booker's Place, A Mississippi Story.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Raymond De Felitta
Produced by David Zellerford
Yvette Johnson (co-producer)
Steven C. Beer (executive producer)
Lynn Roer (executive producer)
Edited byGeorge Gross
Production
company
Eyepatch Productions
Release date
  • April 25, 2012 (2012-04-25) [1]
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story is a 2012 documentary film about Booker Wright, an African-American waiter who worked in a restaurant for whites only. In 1965, Wright appeared in Mississippi: A Self Portrait , [2] a short NBC television documentary about racism in the American South. During his interview with producer Frank De Felitta, he spoke openly about racism, and his treatment as a waiter in an all-white restaurant. The broadcast of his remarks had catastrophic consequences for Wright. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story was directed by the son of Frank De Felitta, Oscar-nominated, independent filmmaker Raymond De Felitta, [8] [9] produced by David Zellerford, and co-produced by one of Booker Wright's four grandchildren, Yvette Johnson. [10] It includes interviews with those who lived in the community. They discuss life at the time, and the restaurant Wright owned, which catered to African-American customers. [11]

Director, Raymond De Felitta Raymond De Felitta - 01.jpg
Director, Raymond De Felitta

The documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2012. [1]

Background

Mississippi: A Self Portrait

The original documentary, the subject of Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story, was produced by Frank De Felitta in 1965. De Felitta worked for NBC as a documentary filmmaker. He was given his own unit, and so generally had the freedom to select his own topics. He was inspired to make Mississippi: A Self Portrait after reading a New York Times Sunday Magazine article by Hodding Carter about injustice experienced by African Americans in Mississippi. He approached NBC, and the project was approved. [10] He traveled to Mississippi to interview local residents. There, in Greenwood, he was introduced to Booker Wright, a waiter at Lusco's, a whites-only restaurant. Wright sang the menu, a gimmick at the restaurant. This was also because there were no menus, a measure used to discourage African Americans from patronizing the restaurant. [10] Wright spoke openly about his treatment by customers, and life in a racist society. The documentary appeared on NBC television. [12]

Consequences of the broadcast

Following the broadcast of the NBC documentary, Wright quit his job at the all-white restaurant after being shunned by customers. He was severely pistol-whipped by a policeman, and his own restaurant, Booker's Place was firebombed. [10] Wright was later murdered by a Black customer, Lloyd Cork, currently serving a life sentence for his murder.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz</i> (film) 1974 film

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a 1974 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Richard Dreyfuss. It is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler.

Christopher Browne, also known as Chris Browne, is an American documentary filmmaker and director. He is noted for directing the sports documentaries that "shed light on the oddballs and underdogs of the sporting world."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond De Felitta</span> American independent film director, screenwriter and musician

Raymond De Felitta is an American independent film director, screenwriter, musician, blogger and podcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribeca Grill</span> Restaurant in New York City, New York

Tribeca Grill is a New American restaurant located at 375 Greenwich Street in Tribeca, Manhattan, in New York City, co-owned by Robert De Niro and Drew Nieporent. Celebrity investors include Bill Murray, Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Ed Harris, and Lou Diamond Phillips, among others. It opened in 1990. The Executive Chef is Stephane Motir. The large mahogany bar in the center of the restaurant is from the former Maxwell's Plum restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judd Ehrlich</span> American filmmaker

Judd Milo Ehrlich is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2016, The New York Times said "Ehrlich, an Emmy-winning documentarian, clearly knows his craft."

<i>City Island</i> (film) 2009 American film

City Island is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Raymond De Felitta and starring Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Alan Arkin, Emily Mortimer and Ezra Miller. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 26, 2009. The title refers to the Bronx's City Island, where the film is set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayley Marie Norman</span> American actress

Hayley Marie Norman is an American actress, writer, and creator known for her roles in Kenan, A.P. Bio, Hancock, Chris Rock's Top Five, Adam Ruins Everything, Fired Up!, and Norbit.

<i>Puncture</i> (film) 2011 American film

Puncture is an independent feature film starring Chris Evans, directed by Adam Kassen and Mark Kassen. The film is based on the true story of Michael David "Mike" Weiss and Paul Danziger. It was chosen as one of the spotlight films for the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, premiering on April 21, 2011 in New York City.

Alan Klingenstein is an American corporate and securities attorney, investment banker, film distributor, and award-winning film producer. His feature film Two Family House won the Audience Award at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Another feature film, Runaway, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and won Best Dramatic Feature at the 2005 Austin Film Festival. His documentary Trumbo was awarded the National Board of Review's Freedom of Expression Award in 2008. Klingenstein is currently the Chairman of FilmRise, a film and television distribution company.

An automated restaurant or robotic restaurant is a restaurant that uses robots to do tasks such as delivering food and drink to the tables and/or cooking the food.

<i>Freedom Riders</i> (film) 2010 American film

Freedom Riders is a 2010 American historical documentary film, produced by Firelight Media for the twenty third episode in the twenty third season of American Experience on PBS. The film is based in part on the book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice by historian Raymond Arsenault. Directed by Stanley Nelson, it marked the 50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride in May 1961 and first aired on May 16, 2011. It was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The film was also featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show program titled, Freedom Riders: 50th Anniversary. Nelson was helped in the making of the documentary by Arsenault and Derek Catsam, an associate professor at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

<i>Semper Fi: Always Faithful</i> 2011 American film

Semper Fi: Always Faithful, is a documentary film about the Camp Lejeune water contamination. The film made the 15 film short list for consideration for a 2012 Academy Award for best documentary feature. The film, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2011, has a 100% "fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, indicating highly positive critical reviews. The film won a documentary editing award at Tribeca and The Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize 2012. The Society of Professional Journalists presented it with its Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Television Documentary (Network).

<i>Bombay Beach</i> (film) 2011 documentary film by Alma Harel

Bombay Beach is a 2011 documentary film directed and produced by Israeli filmmaker Alma Har'el. The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit "Truer than Fiction" Award, won "Best Feature Documentary" at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, and has been taught in several universities including Duke University and Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab and Film Center as a genre redefining work. Taking place in the Salton Sea, a rusting relic of a failed 1950s development boom, Bombay Beach is a dreamlike poem that sets three personal stories to a stylized melding of observational documentary and choreographed dance to music specially composed for the film by Zach Condon of the band Beirut, and songs by Bob Dylan.

<i>Lil Bub & Friendz</i> 2013 American film

Lil Bub & Friendz is a 2013 documentary directed by Andy Capper and Juliette Eisner. It stars Lil Bub and her owner Mike Bridavsky and looks at cats on the Internet, Internet memes and viral videos. Lil Bub & Friendz premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013 and won the Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.

<i>The DuPont Show of the Week</i> American TV anthology series (1961–1964)

The DuPont Show of the Week is an American television anthology drama series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1961 to September 6, 1964. During its time on the air, the program "was NBC's late Sunday evening 'class' showcase".

Raymond Ablack is a Canadian actor and comedian. He began his career in the early 2000s as a child actor on stage, performing as Young Simba in The Lion King at the Princess of Wales Theatre. He later gained recognition for playing Sav Bhandari in the teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2007 to 2011.

<i>Bathtubs Over Broadway</i> 2018 American documentary film directed by Dava Whisenant

Bathtubs Over Broadway is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Dava Whisenant. Comedy writer Steve Young’s assignment to scour bargain-bin vinyl for a late-night segment becomes an unexpected, decades-spanning obsession when he stumbles upon the strange and hilarious world of industrial musicals. The film premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was released on November 30, 2018 by Focus World.

<i>O.G.</i> (film) 2018 film directed by Madeleine Sackler

O.G. is a 2018 American drama film directed by Madeleine Sackler and written by Stephen Belber. The film stars Jeffrey Wright, William Fichtner, Boyd Holbrook, Mare Winningham, David Patrick Kelly and Yul Vazquez. The film premiered on HBO on February 23, 2019. The film was entirely filmed in Pendleton Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Indiana.

Sarita Khurana is a film director, producer, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. Khurana's films explore South Asian stories from female perspectives. Migration, memory, culture, gender, and sexuality are common themes throughout her work. Khurana was the first Desi woman to win the Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award at Tribeca Film Festival with her collaborator, Smriti Mundhra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Pictures</span> American film distribution company

Giant Pictures is an American independent film distribution company founded by Nick Savva and Jeff Stabenau with offices in New York City and Los Angeles. The company releases feature films, documentaries and series on streaming platforms, with an emphasis on flexibility and customization for filmmakers. Giant Pictures owns and operates specialty theatrical label, Drafthouse Films. Giant is the distribution and technology partner of the Tribeca Festival.

References

  1. 1 2 "TribecaFilm.com | Tribeca Film | Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story". Tribeca Film. 2012-04-21. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  2. ↑ "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story | Film Review". Slant Magazine. 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  3. ↑ DeFore, John (2012-04-26). "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story: Tribeca Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  4. ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (2012-04-26). "'Booker's Place - A Mississippi Story,' by Raymond De Felitta - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  5. ↑ Nick Schager (2012-04-25). "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story - Page 1 - Movies - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  6. ↑ Scheib, Ronnie (2012-04-22). "Variety Reviews - Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story - Film Reviews - Tribeca - Review by Ronnie Scheib". Variety.com. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  7. ↑ "'Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story' movie review, trailer: Honors man's bravery 40 years later | Movies | NewJerseyNewsroom.com - Your State. Your News". NewJerseyNewsroom.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  8. ↑ xc00000000120937 (2012-04-25). "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story". Moviefone. Retrieved 2012-05-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story". MovieTickets.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  10. 1 2 3 4 ""Booker's Place": Documentary Tells Story of Black Mississippi Waiter Who Lost Life by Speaking Out". Democracynow.org. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  11. ↑ Lee, Felicia R. (2012-04-20). "The Story Behind 'Booker's Place,' at Tribeca Film Festival". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story". Rotten Tomatoes. 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.