MHC Announces First Awards in New Documentary Film Grants Program

The Mississippi Humanities Council has approved the first awards in its new documentary film grant program. The new grant program was launched in December 2023 to support documentary filmmaking in and about Mississippi, and to strengthen the humanities content and approach of documentary film productions.

Following a rigorous review and a vote of the full MHC Board, the Council is pleased to announce $25,000 in support of three documentary film projects that explore the people and places that make Mississippi extraordinary. “The Council has supported documentary film projects for many years through its regular grants program, believing such films offer unique insight into the diverse lives and experiences of Mississippians,” said MHC Assistant Director Carol Andersen. “We are excited to create this new opportunity to support great storytelling through the power of documentary film.”

Projects awarded include:

Central Mississippi Blues Society, Inc.—$5,000 James “Super Chikan’” Johnson—A Life in Blues

A one-hour documentary on the life and career of James ‘Super Chikan’ Johnson of Clarksdale. The film explores themes of nostalgia and memory within the genre of Delta Blues, the re-emergence of women as strong voices within Blues, the lasting historical impact of the Blues as a musical genre and the ongoing challenges facing working Blues musicians. It also features live performances by Super Chikan, interviews with several of his contemporaries such as Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Andrew ‘Shine’ Turner and Cedric Burnside, as well as up-and-coming Blues artists such as Jaxx Nassar. The film raises questions about how socio-economic disparity affects not only Blues musicians, but people within the larger context of the Mississippi Delta.

Southern Documentary Fund—$5,000 UTICA

A documentary film examining how residents of Utica, use farming and collaborative community development programs to fight food insecurity and disinvestment in their once thriving community. UTICA “puts a face to issues surrounding food security and access, community development, and agriculture,” and explores how access to a life necessity — food — has been threatened for decades in this community. The film paints a portrait of life in rural, southern America while also exploring the idea and power in collaborative community building.

Create Foundation, Inc.—$15,000 POSSUM TOWN

POSSUM TOWN is a documentary film project exploring modern stories of Columbus, MS, as they relate to the historical photograph archive of O. N. Pruitt. The project is being completed in conjunction with the decades-long preservation and storytelling efforts of Dr. Berkley Hudson, whose book O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Trouble and Resilience in the American South was published by UNC Press in 2022. The film’s diverse documentary accounts of daily life serve as a mirror to those captured in Pruitt’s vast collection and invite a conversation to consider the ways Mississippi—as well as the South and the world—has and has not changed in the years since Pruitt’s work. POSSUM TOWN will be a full-length feature film.

Mark Rankin, a filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada, is among the recipients of the Council’s new documentary film grants for his project titled James “Super Chikan’” Johnson—A Life in Blues, on the life and career of the Clarksdale blues musician. “This grant helps us reach audiences that we feel would be most appreciative of our documentary—those from Mr. Johnson’s home state,” said Rankin. “This grant ultimately aids us in continuing to document a man who has given, and continues to give, so much to the Mississippi musical landscape.” Documentary film grants are accepted annually in December.

For more information contact MHC grants coordinator Carol Andersen (601)432-6752.