Natchez

dir. Daniel Christian
2020
Running time: 27:33

Winner: Best Film

Film

In a small Mississippi town known for its opulent antebellum homes, a handful of locals who work in or adjacent to the tourism industry go about their daily lives. With tourism the town’s primary economy, myths of the Old South are not merely felt beneath the surface but make up the surface itself, and everyday interactions are inevitably imbued with the region’s fraught past. Stuck in the amber of a Confederate fantasy, locals eternally contend with questions of history and mythology, of industry and power. The characters of Natchez find joy, peace and melancholy amidst these specters in this vibrant portrait of life in the American South.

Christian headshot.jpeg

Daniel
Christian

Daniel Christian is a filmmaker, editor and writer. His writing on nonfiction film has appeared in Filmmaker Magazine and Paste. Raised by North Carolinians in Georgia and Northern Virginia, his work has focused on deconstructing Southern identity and mythology. He earned his master’s degree in documentary journalism from the University of Missouri in December 2019.