January Staff Pick | Banished

Introducing Monthly Staff Picks, where members of the Full Frame team dive into the archives and select a film to share with you each month! Kicking off the series is Communications Manager Chris Everett with his pick of Banished (dir. Marco Williams), the 2007 Full Frame Spectrum Award winner.

Chris says, “When I first saw Banished in 2010, it was my first time seeing a documentary on ethnic cleansing in America. It added a perspective that we never saw in a film on how African-Americans were stripped of generational wealth because of racial terrorism and clear cut case for reparations. Banished inspired me to research events like this in North Carolina, which led me to make my first documentary on the 1898 Wilmington Insurrection.”

Banished tells the story of African-American landowners in the early 20th century who were denied their right to live on land that they rightfully owned, and how the descendants of those people seek closure only to be rebuffed by those who claim to want reconciliation. The film finds redemption though, in its belief that the desire for racial harmony and the pursuit of social justice prove much more compelling than the hate found in Harrison, Arkansas, Pierce City, Missouri, and Forsyth County (Georgia) a century ago.

Where to stream: Vimeo On Demand, Kanopy