EMMETT- GERMAN HISTORY X

Search Film, Company, People...

EMMETT- GERMAN HISTORY X

By Lara-Sophie MILAGRO, Dela DABULAMANZI

LABEL NOIR - as PROD / FIN

Drama - Completed 2024

Based on the true story of the black teenager Emmett Till, who was lynched by white racists in August 1955 while visiting his family for summer vacation in Mississippi.
His story is told in a minimalist style à la DOGVILLE and also refers to racially motivated violence of our time.

- Year of production
- 2024
- Genres
- Drama, Female director, Historical
- Countries
- GERMANY
- Languages
- GERMAN
- Budget
- 0 - 0.3 M$
- Duration
- 90 mn
- Director(s)
- Lara-Sophie MILAGRO, Dela DABULAMANZI
- Writer(s)
- Clare COSS
- Cast
- Dela DABULAMANZI, Lara-Sophie MILAGRO, Selam TADESE, Samia DAUENHAUER, Seedy TOURAY, Esmael AGOSTINHO, Agens LAMPKIN
- Producer(s)
- Lara-Sophie MILAGRO (Label Noir), Dela DABULAMANZI (Label Noir), Tibor LOCHER (Label Noir)
- Synopsis
- In the summer of 1955, for 14-year-old Black boy Emmett Till from Chicago, a long-awaited dream comes true: his mother Mamie allows him to visit his relatives in Mississippi. Mamie, who grew up in the South herself, is familiar with the segregation laws there. After Emmett's departure, she is plagued by dark premonitions.
  
  Arriving in the small town of Money, Emmett is warmly welcomed by his uncle Mose, his aunt Lizzy, and his cousin Maurice. Life in the South is characterized by strict segregation. Black and white people live according to the Jim Crow laws, which are deeply ingrained in society. Despite this, Emmett and Maurice enjoy an carefree, exciting summer—until Maurice challenges Emmett to a dare: to speak to the white store owner Carolyn Bryant. Emmett accepts the challenge, unaware of the consequences his seemingly harmless bravado will have.
  
  That night, Emmett is abducted from his uncle's house by Carolyn's husband Roy Bryant and his accomplice, his half-brother J.W. Milam. Three days later, Emmett's body is found in the Tallahatchie River: one eye gouged out, his head split open, and a weight with barbed wire attached around his neck.
  
  Mamie decides on a public funeral with an open casket. She wants the world to see what was done to her son. Countless people pay their last respects, and journalists from around the world report on the racially motivated murder. However, the trial lasts only five days. Despite overwhelming evidence, Roy Bryant and his half-brother are acquitted by an all-white jury. The white teacher Roanne Taylor, who unwittingly witnessed the crime, feels guilty but testifies in favor of the perpetrators. Only four months after their acquittal, the two confess the murder in an interview with LOOK magazine. Photos of Emmett's disfigured body circulate worldwide. His death becomes a pivotal moment for the Civil Rights Movement in the USA and beyond.
  
  The film draws a connection to the present by highlighting parallels to current cases of racially motivated violence and questions how society treats victims and their families today. The project was conceived from the perspective of People of Color. In an unusual dramaturgical approach, Black actors play both Black and white roles. "The minimalist theatrical set, inspired by Lars von Trier's Dogville (2003), is unique in Germany to date."