''Prom Night in Mississippi'' is a 2009 Canadian-American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

written and directed by

Paul Saltzman Paul Saltzman (born 1943) is a Canadian film and television producer and director. A two-time Emmy Award-recipient, he has been credited on more than 300 films, both dramas and documentaries. The 2008 documentary feature, '' Prom Night in Missi ...

. The documentary follows a group of 2008 Charleston High School high school seniors in

Charleston, Mississippi Charleston is a city in north central Mississippi and one of the two county seats of Tallahatchie County, which is located on both sides of the Tallahatchie River. This city is located east of the river and its population was 2,193 at the 2010 ce ...

as they prepare for their

senior prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school ye ...

, the first racially integrated prom in Charleston history.

Background and production

The prom was funded by Morgan Freeman, a Charleston resident, and exposed racial tension in the town, mainly among administrators and parents of the students of the high school. Filmed on location in Mississippi, ''Prom Night in Mississippi'' was directed by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Paul Saltzman with his wife Patricia Aquino acting as producer. It was filmed over a four-month period on a budget of $750,000 of the director's own money. The crew shot over 165 hours of footage, 89 minutes of which were used in the final version. It was shown on HBO, premiered in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

on November 12, 2009, and had its theatrical release on December 11, 2009.

Documentary

The documentary is about the

in Charleston, Mississippi. The

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Charleston (a community of 2,100 residents) has an average of 80 graduates per year, and up until 2008 had separate,

segregated prom A segregated prom refers to the practice of United States high schools, generally located in the Deep South, of holding racially segregated proms for white and black students. The practice spread after these schools were integrated, and persists ...

s for black students and white students, despite Mississippi fully integrating their schools in 1970. In 1997 Morgan Freeman (a resident of Charleston since 1991) approached the school and offered to pay for the prom, provided it be racially integrated. The school declined Freeman's offer. In 2008 Freeman offered again, and the school agreed to move forward with an integrated prom. Saltzman follows a group of students, both black and white, over four months as they prepare for their senior prom. The students discuss segregation in Charleston and how they feel about it. The documentary also explores issues such as interracial relationships, and what the parents think about an integrated prom. The integrated prom is successful despite some parents' forbidding their children to attend it. The film brought some racial tension to the town of Charleston, mostly from the parents and school authorities concerned with "tradition and security issues", with a group of parents planning a separate prom for white students only.

Recognition

Awards and nominations

*2009, Won Target Filmmaker Award for Best Documentary, AFI Dallas International Film Festival *2009, Won Audience Choice Award, Jackson Crossroads Film Festival *2009, Won Audience Choice Award, Oxford Film Festival,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

*2009, Nominated for Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary at Sundance Film Festival

References

External links