Prom Night in Mississippi

Prom Night in Mississippi was one of my favorite films from the 2009 Hot Docs film festival, and I was thrilled to see it released theatrically in Toronto this weekend. I had tweeted about the film, posted about it on various Internet message boards, and also wanted plunk down my $10 at the theatre to further support the film. A fortuitous surprise was the that director and producer of the film, Paul Saltzman and Patricia Aquino, were available for a Q&A after the screening. They were in Toronto (along with actor Morgan Freeman) to promote the film.

I think I've blogged about it before, but I think the story the film tells is an important one. And it's one that's very fairly and touchingly told. For many years, the high school prom in Charleston, Mississippi had been segregated. There was the Black prom and the White prom despite the fact that the school was fully integrated (70% Black students, 30% white students).

Actor Morgan Freeman, who had lived in the town as a child, offered to pay for the prom if it would be integrated. We come to hear from the students themselves about their own feelings towards each other, and the attitudes that they were brought up with.

The Hot Docs audience loved the film, and the people in the small screening I attended also enjoyed it immensely. It's an important film for young people to see and the filmmakers are working to get the movie out to high schools and colleges. Where it has been shown, it has been wildly successful.

I'm blogging about this movie again because I really hope people will see this movie. It's heart-warming. The ingenuousness of the students is touching. And what they're doing--breaking a vicious cycle, a sad history of racism--is very powerful. So go see this movie--don't make me tell you again!