‘Natchez’ Documentarian on the Ghosts of the Civil War That Continue to Haunt the American South

The U.S. Civil War ended 160 years ago, but as demonstrated by the new documentary feature Natchez, its reverberations are still very much being felt in the American South. During a Q&A (which you can watch below) at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival (where Natchez was featured on the fest’s annual Docs to Watch panel), the film’s director, Suzannah Herbert, addressed why she has devoted her career to making films about the South, and what, for this new Oscilloscope release, led her specifically to the eponymous small town in Mississippi, which has a population of less than 15,000.

Herbert says that she spent 75 days filming in Natchez, meeting locals, establishing relationships and making subjects feel comfortable enough to reveal their true selves, for better or worse. The film was then deliberately assembled in the format of Robert Altman’s Nashville, with many overlapping characters, and in the tone of Errol Morris’ docs Gates of Heaven and Vernon, Florida, which gave their eccentric subjects the time and space to reveal themselves.

The Hollywood Reporter’s review of the film — which premiered at the Tribeca Festival and took home the documentary feature prize as well as special jury awards for cinematography and editing — includes the following passage: “Contradictions abound as we learn that Natchez was a place where formerly enslaved African Americans thrived during Reconstruction. And yet, it’s mostly white residents fighting against having the slave market memorialized in the 21st century. How can a city move forward without acknowledging the past? That’s not just a question for Natchez, but one for America as a whole.”