Alan Govenar's QUIET VOICES is a look at the city of Japer in Texas, specifically the volunteers who try to keep a connection to the past open so that the city can find a future.
Jasper is a town that has been at the forefront of racial inequality. A place where racism ran rampant for decades and where there was a time when lynching was an evenings entertainment, the city has slowly been dying. In the wake of the lynching of James Byrd in 1998 people began to leave so as not to be connected to the hatred. The Black volunteers who are the focus of the film are looking to end the hatred and bring the place they love back.
This is a good look at racism in not just Jasper but America. As we have seen under the current adminstration racist feelings are being expressed openly that shows the feelings that spawned violence in Jasper are felt elsewhere. Watching the struggles of the people in Japser to tell the story of their community echoes what people elsewhere are doing to keep their stories alive in the wake of the efforts to turn back the clock to when the non-whites were not in control.
Going past the issues at the heart of the film aside the reason you will want to see this film is because the people you will meet on screen will move you. These are great people who are great storytellers. These are the sort of people you will want to hang out with in a diner and just talk for hours. Everyone on screen has an ability to connect the stories they are protecting and sharing to the hear and now. The bad old days are here but with their help we can find away to put them truly back in the past.
This is an important film you should see.
Opening Friday at Cinema Village in New York the film is one you need to keep an eye out for....especially if you are in NYC since DOC NYC is going to over shadow an important documentary like this. Don't let the film get lost.
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