Community leaders in Clarksdale, where Ryan Coogler’s hit film “Sinners” was set but not filmed, are inviting Michael B. Jordan and the rest of the cast and crew to visit the grounds where the Jim Crow era vampire movie takes place.
“We are extending an open invitation to you, the cast, and the creative team behind ‘Sinners’ to visit Clarksdale, to walk the streets your vision reimagined, to meet the people whose real stories echo through every frame, and to experience firsthand the living, breathing legacy that inspired your work and the people who are sustaining and reimagining its future,” local activist Tyler Yarbough wrote to Coogler on behalf of the Clarksdale community.
Yarbough, who reportedly traveled 80 miles to see the film twice since the Delta town no longer has any operating theaters, has received over 5,500 signatures on a petition accompanying the letter.
To Yarbrough, the movie was a box office success for millions of viewers worldwide. But for it to be a success to all the people who played a role in it making it to the big screen – including the thousands of people who call Clarksdale home and represent chapters of Mississippi’s past, present, and future – a public screening of “Sinners” with the cast and crew involved could be held in Clarksdale.
“Beneath the horror and fantasy, your film captures the soul of this place: our history, our struggles, our genius, our joy, our community,” the letter continued. “…We would also be honored to collaborate with you to host a public screening and celebration here in Clarksdale. A homecoming not just for the film, but for the history, culture, and future that continue to define our city and to connect Mississippi creatives with your work.”
Coogler, whose uncle James is from Mississippi, in part based the film on the blues music and stories shared with him as a young boy. Adding a supernatural element to the racially divided past the state dealt with in the 1930s and beyond, the flick has sold out movie theaters in more populated parts of Mississippi. As for Clarksdale, many of the residents have not had the opportunity to see how the stories they know so well were represented on the big screen.
“Just as your uncle’s Blues Music and making this film lit a fire in you, we believe a visit to Clarksdale from you could light an even bigger one for the next generation. We are ready. We are waiting. And we would be proud to welcome you back to where it all began,” the letter concluded.
As of Monday, Coogler had not publicly responded to the letter. If he does take Yarbrough up on the offer to visit Clarksdale, a full tour of the town is promised with stops including Red’s Juke Joint and Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club, among other historic locations.
“Sinners” follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack, both played by Jordan, as the duo returns to their Mississippi Delta hometown in 1932 to open a juke joint. Their opening night shindig is met with unwelcome, bloodthirsty guests and members of the Ku Klux Klan trying to crash the party. Other members of the cast include Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, and Li Jun Li.
Although the flick was filmed in Louisiana, there was a physical connection to Mississippi at the end when Buddy Guy and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram appeared in the ending credits scene. Guy is honored on the Mississippi Blues Trail and Ingram is a Clarksdale-born guitarist who helped with the film’s soundtrack.
