(29 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Clarksdale, Mississippi - 29 May 2025
1. "Sinners" sign
++SOUNDBITE COVERED BY SHOTS 1&3++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Shelby Simbs, attendee:
"I'm here to see "Sinners" in Clarksdale where it was based, where the history is from."
3. Clarksdale Civic Auditorium with "Sinners" on screen
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Shelby Simbs, attendee:
"I'm drawn to this movie. It's something about how Ryan (Coogler) is able, as I've said before, how he's able to capture the Black experience on film."
5. Ryan Coogler, "Sinners" director greets crowd
++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOT 8++
6. SOUNDBITE (English) David Shaw, attendee:
"I didn't know before the movie came out that it took place in Clarksdale. There's not a lot of towns around here that have movie theaters. The initial question is, 'Well, how are people in this area going to see the movie to begin with?'"
7. Ryan Coogler, "Sinners" director thanking crowd
8. "Sinners" on screen
++ PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOT 11++
9. SOUNDBITE (English) David Shaw, attendee:
"As soon as I saw the petition or heard the petition, I made sure I signed it, made sure I shared it. And it was so important that it got so many signatures as fast as it did, and it brought it here, which we know, we're so thankful that it worked."
10. People clapping
11. Crowd watching
++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOTS 14&15++
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Brea C'Bette, attendee:
"It's very beautiful to me that we have this experience because not a lot of people get to see Mississippi for what it really is. A lot of people think we're just corn fields, and we're just dirt roads, but there's so much more to Mississippi than people really get to see."
13. Clarksdale Civic Auditorium
14. Ryan Coogler, "Sinners" director laughs
++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOTS 18&20++
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Cindy Hurst, attendee:
"The master speaks again, you know. He does a really good, as usual, a really good visual representation of the beauty of the Black culture. I love it."
16. Crowd clapping
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of people packed inside the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium Thursday to see the hit film set in their community and steeped in Mississippi Delta culture. The special screening of the blockbuster horror film "Sinners" included an appearance by Director Ryan Coogler and was made possible by a community petition.
"I have family from Mississippi — my uncle, my grandfather — and I had never been until working on this script," Coogler said, addressing the crowd. "It really changed me just to come here."
"Sinners" composer Ludwig Göransson, actor Miles Canton and others who worked on the film also attended the screening.
"Anytime that filmmakers take the time out to pay homage to the Delta, especially, because we're the root of music, the blues culture, that means a lot," said Brandice Brown Williams, a theater teacher who brought two of her students to the screening.
The film is set in 1930s Clarksdale, Mississippi, but current day Clarksdale doesn't have a movie theater, making it difficult for people to see the film based in their hometown. Community organizers decided to change that, starting a petition inviting the cast and crew to Clarksdale and asking to collaborate on hosting a public screening.
"The love you have for Southern folk, Mississippians and Clarksdale came to life through your commitment to writing us right," wrote community organizer Tyler Yarbrough. "We are ready. We are waiting. And we would be proud to welcome you back to where it all began."
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Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_j-jatSbAo