The two towns of jasper probes these contrasting views, opinions, and attitudes concerning the impending trials of bill king, lawrence brewer, and shawn berry, three tattooed hayseeds who allegedly polished off a night of drinking beer and looking for women by brutalizing byrd. Jasper became the county seat in 1844 and became part of the united states with the annexation of texas in 1845. Watch two towns of jasper trailers and video, including teasers, extended looks, exclusive clips, footage, sneak peeks, interviews, and more on moviefone. Two towns of jasper theresa schiavone reports on the public television documentary, two towns of jasper, which examines the racial divide in the texas city where the 1998 racially motivated. Filmmaker marco williams will discuss his film, two towns of jasper at a free film screening oct. What insights does the film provide to people whose exploration of racism goes beyond relations between blacks and whites. Directors whitney dow and marco williams went to jasper with two crewsone black, one whiteto get at the truth of what life in jasper is all about. Marco williams is a filmmaker and film educator, best known for two towns of jasper, which won a peabody award and was nominated for the grand jury prize. Two film crews, one black and one white, document the. Two towns of jasper friday, april 7 carolina theatre, durham in 1998, an africanamerican man was murdered by three white men in the seemingly peaceful town. Two towns of jasper is the twelfth program in the 15th anniversary season of pov, televisions longestrunning series of independent, nonfiction films. Jasper was a confederate army headquarters for a ninecounty area. Sundance film festival usa 9 february 2002 pan african film festival usa march 2002 south by southwest film festival denmark 21 july 2003 tv premiere finland 19 november 2003 tv premiere usa 7 april 2017 full frame documentary film festival.
Two towns of jasper premiered wednesday, january 22, 2003 at 9 p. Two towns of jasper, the documentary that resulted from their efforts, will have its. The two towns of jasper nick fauerbach senior english 7th mrs. Unlike others, they decided to do something they made a film.
But two towns of jasper suggests that perhaps the real defendant in byrds murder should have been jasper, the town, and its two separate communities, which are divided along racial lines. This is two towns of jasper by whitney dow on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. It told of a black man being chained to the back of a pickup for three miles by three white men. Jasper, texas is a 2003 american madefortelevision drama film directed by jeffrey w. Two towns of jasper full frame documentary film festival. Two towns of jasper tracks community reactionsin a town of fewer than 8,000 residentsto the events of june 7, 1998, when james. In two towns of jasper, two film crews, one black and one white. Two filmmakers, who had known each other since childhood, wanted to take a closer look. Using two separate filmmaking teams an allwhite crew filming white residents and an allblack camera crew filming black residents, two towns of jasper captures very different racial views by townsfolk in jasper, texas, the location for a racially motivated murder of an african american in 1998.
In two towns of jasper, two film crews, one black and one white, set out to document the aftermath of the murder by following the subsequent trials of the local men charged with the crime. In 1998 three texans brutally beat a black man, tie him to a truck and drag him to his death. A black crew filmed only the black residents of the town. I recently arrived to wilmington in june as a 2011 george stoney fellow from ithaca college in ithaca, new york. On june 7, 1998, three white men from jasper, texas, chained africanamerican james byrd to a pickup truck and dragged him until his body disintegrated. The world press came and went, often stereotyping jasper, texas as a small town full of redneck haters. Two towns of jasper nprs michele norris talks with whitney dow and marco williams, producersdirectors of the pov documentary two towns of jasper airing on pbs stations next. Texas executes jasper man who orchestrated gruesome hate crime duration. In 1998, when three white men in jasper, texas, took it into their. Everything you need to get started teaching your students about racism, antisemitism and prejudice. While many films examine the topic of race, two towns of jasperdocuments the town of jasper during the trials of the three men who murdered james byrd jr. Williamss films have won numerous prizes, including the doubletake full frame grand prize and the. Two film crews, one black and one white, set out to document the aftermath of the murder of an african american by following the subsequent trials of the local.
Three white men from jasper with ties to white supremacist groups were arrested and later convicted for the crime. Using two separate filmmaking teams an allwhite crew filming white residents and an allblack camera crew filming black residents, two towns of jasper captures very different racial. Whitney dow and marco williams received the 2002 center for documentary studies filmmaker award for their featurelength documentary two towns of jasper, a film about the racially motivated murder of james byrd jr. Two film crews, one black and one white, document the aftermath of the murder. The dehumanization of a group of people is what leads to unspeakable acts. Williams the documentary, the two towns of jasper, was excellent in my mind for many different reasons. Williams is a professor in the department of film and tv at the tisch school at nyu. A panel discusses two towns of jasper, a documentary film that explores race relations in the town where james byrd, jr. In it, two film crews, one black and one white, set out to document the aftermath of the murder, by. Two towns of jasper 2002 filmmaker marco williams travels to jasper, texas, where a black man named james byrd jr. Originally presented in january 2003 during povs 15th season, the film explores race relations in the town of jasper, texas, following the brutal murder of a black man by white supremacists.
From marco williams and whitney dows two towns of jasper. What fences dividing my community need dismantling. This powerful documentary takes you to the white and black communities. Does this film deepen your understanding of racism or prejudice. They had talked with each other for years about their.
Dow and his white crew interviewed 15 white residents, while williams and a black crew interviewed 15 black residents. A collaborative effort between a black and a white filmmaker, two towns of jasper records the responses of both black and white residents of jasper to the crime and the trials using two separate film crews. Culminating the yearlong festival trek, two towns of jasper is scheduled for a national airdate on january 22, 2003. In this activity, students will watch clips from two towns of jasper and engage in discussions and roleplaying activities based on quotations from the programs.
There is a new film now, called two towns of jasper. The first presence we observe in the opening frames of the two towns of jasper is a rural sheriff sporting a cowboy hat, a white, longsleeved. His films have received several awards, including the gotham documentary achievement award for two towns of jasper and he has been nominated three times for the sundance film festival grand jury prize. Things are heating up at the working films firehouse this summer literally, the heat index has hovered around 100 degrees the past month. How does it contradict or confirm what you believe about people who hold racist views. Find out more about the town of jasper and what has happened to the residents of jasper and the men convicted of murdering james byrd, jr. Independent documentary series pov is streaming and rebroadcasting two towns of jasper as a part of its 30th season this august. The teleplay by jonathan estrin is based on a true story and focuses on the aftermath of a crime in which three white men from the small town of jasper, texas, killed african american james byrd jr.
In a town in texas a man was dragged behind a pickup truck until death. During the civil war, the town housed a confederate quartermaster depot and served as a major center for confederate communication, transportation, and supply. Pov to stream two towns of jasper free for 30 days. Two towns of jasper s festival prizes include the grand prize at the full frame film festival, silver award at toronto hot docs and the anthony radziwill documentary achievement award presented at ifps gotham awards in october. Center for documentary studies filmmaker award 2002. Two towns of jasper covers the three murder trials, from january through december 1999. Two towns of jasper one of the most insightful, illuminating and unsettling pics ever made about race relations in the u. Marco williams is a documentary filmmaker and professor of film production at northwestern university. Two towns of jasper 2002 trailers and clips moviefone. Abc news nightline the two towns of jasper 2 dvd set. Marco williams is a filmmaker and film educator, best known for two towns of jasper, which won a peabody award and was. Thirteen years have passed since the brutal, racially motivated murder of james byrd jr.
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