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18TH FILM PROGRAMME

TUSCALOOSA

Fiction
United States , 2019, 101'
Director: Philip Harder
Producer: Patrick Riley, Scott Franklin, Brian Etting, Josh Etting, Jenny Daly, Tate Donovan, Erik Helgeson, Dan Riley
Cinematographer: Theo Stanley
Composer: Joshua Mosley
Editor: Clayton Condit

Synopsis: 1972. Vietnam war protests and racial tension is sizzling in the late summer heat of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Billy Mitchell (Devon Bostick, Diary of a Wimpy Kid), a recent college graduate, spends the summer working on the lush grounds of an old world mental institution run by his psychiatrist father (Tate Donovan, Rocketman). Billy falls in love with Virginia (Natalia Dyer, Velvet Buzzsaw, Stranger Things), a patient who is possibly crazy, or perhaps she is the only sane person Billy has in his world. Billy’s best friend Nigel (Marchánt Davis) becomes involved with a radical civil rights activist (YG) against Tuscaloosa’s power elite, which includes Billy’s father. Billy is torn between Nigel, his father and his cronies, and Virginia who is planning her escape with or without Billy.

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Director: Philip Harder
When I first read Glasgow Phillips' 1993 novel “Tuscaloosa,” I was drawn in by the author’s ease of weaving a love story and humor with the intense racial politics of the early 70's. Page after page, I was never able to predict the outcome. I visualized a film packed with humorous moments alongside a hard-hitting message. I fell for the characters, especially the young patient Virginia who may be wild but most likely sane. All the characters peel away the layers to reveal a deeper story in the style of Tennessee Williams. Tuscaloosa, Alabama was a hotbed for the civil rights movement. In the early 60’s Life magazine captured Governor Wallace standing on the steps of the University of Alabama, blocking the admittance of two black college students. President Kennedy sent the National Guard to escort the students into school and Wallace finally backed down. A grand showdown in America's history.


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