Natchez

Natchez is a city of about 14 000 residents located in the US state of Mississippi. The city nurtures its traditions and lives off of tourists interested in nostalgia and antebellum history. Director Suzannah Herbert’s perceptive documentary delves into the question of how historical evils should be discussed in modern times. Natchez got its wealth from slavery, and the town’s grand mansions that once belonged to slaveowners stand as blood-stained monuments to its dark history.

The film showcases how different tour guides approach the history of their hometown, creating an accomplished distillation of the deep racial dividing lines that cut through the United States. Many white tourists visiting Natchez are only interested in seeing beautiful mansions and immersing themselves in a Gone With the Wind-style fantasy. These wishes are catered to by the model of a southern gentleman, David Garner, whose chilling racist tirade reveals the truth about his ideology.

Natchez’s Black local activists, on the other hand, refuse to whitewash the city’s history of slavery. The most charismatic among them is reverend Tracy Collins, an eloquent and expert man who, among other things, drives tourists to see sites where shackled slaves were once auctioned off. Natchez received the award for best documentary feature at the Tribeca festival.