CLARKSDALE, Miss. (WLBT) – On Thursday, hundreds poured into the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium to be a part of a movie screening.
It’s a blockbuster film seen by millions all across the world.
Some are already calling it the movie of the year.
That’s right, we are talking about “Sinners.”
It was the first time the movie was shown in the small Mississippi Delta town.
The movie is set in Clarksdale.
However, many residents couldn’t see the film because the city doesn’t have a movie theater.
As a result, Tyler Yarbrough wrote an open letter inviting the cast and crew to the Mississippi Delta for a screening.
This weekend, there will be multiple movie screenings held at the auditorium, giving residents a chance to check out the film.
“I said, ‘Let’s just invite them down,’” said Yarbrough. “I think how professional we were every step of the way, the organizers behind this, I think all of that really came together. I think the City of Clarksdale played a crucial role, and our Mayor Chuck Espy played a crucial role in uplifting this local call, too.”
On Thursday, the director of the film, Ryan Coogler, actor Miles Caton, executives with Warner Bros. Pictures, and other crew members who worked on the film made their way to Clarksdale for the screening.
Hundreds of people from in and out of state also made their way inside the auditorium to be a part of the big event.
“I feel awesome,” said Dianne Mitchell, who saw the film for the first time on Thursday. “This is a new Clarksdale. You never know when you start a project how it’s going to end, and we got a lot of support from Clarksdale and other places. It’s nice.”
“To see all of the hype and to just see the movie and to see everyone so excited, especially with the director being here and getting to see everybody’s reaction to it, it was just really awesome and it felt really good to be in everybody’s presence,” Kat Harrod, who attended Thursday’s film screening.
“Mississippi is really small and we don’t get a lot of play in the theaters, so I think it’s a good thing that he [Coogler] came back home to show his film,” said Kaderyl Bouldin, who attended Thursday’s film screening.
Residents said they are happy not only to see their city featured on the big screen, but they’re also excited to give the world a glimpse of the rich history and culture their hometown has to offer.
“I love that we are actually getting recognition here in the Delta,” said Randy Kwan, who attended Thursday’s film screening. “Initially, I thought it was going to be your typical clan type of film when I heard about it, but it was nice to see a different reflection of the culture that we have in Mississippi.”
“I think the film definitely, in so many different ways, showed that the Delta, the blues, is the bedrock of a lot of American culture,” said Yarbrough. “We are trying to make sure that the people are connected to that, and understand and are supportive of that too.”
There will be a total of four more screenings of the film over the next two days.
Two screenings will take place Friday, two more will take place Saturday.
The screenings are free and open to the public and will take place inside the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium.
Click on this link to get free tickets to the screenings.
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