Coming to NYC’s Mayles Cinema as part of the Doc Watchers series this coming Monday, December 2: THE CONTRADICTIONS OF FAIR HOPE
S Epatha Merkerson and Rockell Metcalf’s thought-provoking exploration of a Southern African American mutual aid association and its eyebrow-raising present-day activities had its world premiere at the San Diego Black Film Festival last year. Its fest circuit has included Chicago’s Black Harvest, Annapolis, BronzeLens, Langston Hughes, Pan African, and the San Francisco, Montreal, Newark, Texas, and American Black Film Festivals, among others.
Merkerson and Metcalf’s directorial debut reveals the largely forgotten history and crucial role of benevolent societies in African American communities after the Civil War – community organizations that worked together to provide financial and social services for one another in times of need, typically formed as a response to the absence of governmental support. Mutual aid associations like Alabama’s Fair Hope Benevolent Society, the focus of the film, promoted black self-reliance and community cooperation for decades, feeding their hungry, caring for their sick, and burying their dead. But even as the filmmakers delved into the rich traditions and untold stories of the group, they learned about how one of their signature events, the Foot Wash, had changed in disturbing ways over time. For the past half-century, what began as a low-key Benevolent Society reunion has morphed into a raucous three-day carnival that profits on decadence and debauchery, with prostitution and drugs rampant. Unflinchingly chronicling its present-day state, Merkerson and Metcalf question how this change came to pass, and what the cultural, sociological, and even psychological impact is of a community ignoring its history and traditions.
what (not) to doc 