Descendant is an upcoming investigative documentary on Netflix, which won a special jury prize winner at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The documentary film is a Higher Ground and Night Tide production, in association with Two One Five Entertainment.
Directed by Margaret Brown (known for The Order of Myths, and The Great Invisible), the film shows how events that unfolded more than a century ago continue to have lasting repercussions several generations later.
Descendant Cast
The cast of the documentary includes many of the subjects who are direct descendants of the Clotilda survivors who banded together to buy a plot of land and establish the community of Africatown. It will also follow Africatown community leaders as they try to figure out how to best honour their ancestors, share their stories and do right by their neighbours.
Descendant Plot/Synopsis
The official synopsis of the film reads, “Descendants of the enslaved Africans on an illegal ship that arrived in Alabama in 1860 seek justice and healing when the craft’s remains are discovered.” Documentary filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for and historic discovery of The Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive in the United States, illegally carrying enslaved Africans.
On July 9, 1860, more than 100 captive Africans were brought to the shores of Mobile, Alabama, on a ship named the Clotilda, under cover of darkness. The international slave trade had been made illegal in the US in 1808, but human trafficker Timothy Meaher made a bet that he could get around the law with his ship. Today, the residents of Africatown, just north of Mobile, count the Clotilda survivors among their ancestors.
After a century of secrecy and speculation, the 2019 discovery of the ship turns attention toward the descendant community of Africatown and presents a moving portrait of a community actively grappling with and fighting to preserve their heritage while examining what justice looks like today.
Descendant Release Date and Trailer
The documentary film is set to be released on 21st October 2022 on Netflix. Check out its trailer below.
Did you know about Clotilda and its survivors’ stories? Are you looking forward to watching this film? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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