IFF x BCSC Present: Exploring The Evolution of Social Justice Movements

154 Angell Street,Providence RI 02912

29 November, 2022

Description

IFF and the Brown Center for Students of Color are proud to present a screening of Till followed by a conversation with Professor Françoise Hamlin and the producer of the film, Keith Beauchamp. Till is a profoundly emotional and cinematic film about the true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. In Mamie’s poignant journey of grief turned to action, we see the universal power of a mother’s ability to change the world. Keith A. Beauchamp is an award-winning filmmaker, based in New York. He has devoted the past twenty-seven years of his life to telling the story of Emmett Till and has traveled extensively between New York, Chicago, and Mississippi to investigate the historic murder. During this journey, Beauchamp befriended the late Mrs. Mamie Till Mobley, who took him under her wings and inspired him to join her ongoing efforts to seek justice in her son’s case. As a result of their close relationship, Beauchamp would produce and direct the award-winning documentary, The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. On May 10th, 2004, the United States Department of Justice re-opened the nearly 50-year-old murder case citing Beauchamp’s documentary, which was later released in 2005, as both a major factor in their decision and the starting point for their investigation. After what would be almost a two-decade-long friendship, producers Barbara Broccoli, Fred Zollo, EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg, and Beauchamp would team up to finally produce the greatly anticipated theatrical feature film, Till, directed by award-winning director Chinonye Chukwu. Françoise N. Hamlin is the Royce Family Associate Professor of Teaching Excellence in Africana Studies and History and an Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History. She is a US historian specializing in the diverse array of African American experiences and epistemologies, particularly during struggles for freedom and equality, and is currently a Andrew Carnegie Foundation Fellow (2021-2023); a fellow-in-residence at the Edmond  J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard; and a Howard Foundation Fellow. Hamlin earned her doctorate in African American studies and American studies at Yale University. This event is sponsored by The Department of Africana Studies, The Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, and The Division of Campus Life.