A Documentary By Patrick O'Connor
Reviews
"Every American should watch LOOK AWAY, LOOK AWAY and reflect on the issues it raises. It is a beautiful, powerful document that captures the issues that divide both the state of Mississippi and our nation.
This film is a courageous portrait of who we are now"
- William Ferris, The Center for Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former Director of the National Endowment for the Humanities
"Look Away, Look Away does a marvelous job of revealing objective fact and subjective emotion on both sides of this issue. It features people who provide compelling voices and represent viewpoints well without reducing them to stereotypes or caricatures. It dramatizes the "war-weariness" that occurred as the struggle dragged on over the years, the effects of frustration, and how even intelligent, well-meaning people can lose their balance and their tempers. Look Away, Look Away, is, at once, an inspiring and sobering documentary about the dynamics of public controversy in modern America"
- John Coski, Historian and author of The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem
“While a flag represents an entire state and its change must be supported by the people, the instigation of such change usually lies with a few committed activists. Look Away, Look Away traces the arc of the final years of activism aimed at updating Mississippi’s flag, presenting with compelling first-person accounts the roles of key actors (pro and con) leading to the eventual success in 2020”
- Ted Kaye, Renown Vexillologist and Author of Good Flag, Bad Flag
"This film is an effective exposition to a discrete era in Mississippi and national U.S. history, chronicling arguments taking place over threatening symbols and monuments and calls for their removal"
- EMRO (Educational Media Reviews Online)
"Every American should watch LOOK AWAY, LOOK AWAY and reflect on the issues it raises. It is a beautiful, powerful document that captures the issues that divide both the state of Mississippi and our nation.
This film is a courageous portrait of who we are now"
- William Ferris, The Center for Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former Director of the National Endowment for the Humanities
"Look Away, Look Away does a marvelous job of revealing objective fact and subjective emotion on both sides of this issue. It features people who provide compelling voices and represent viewpoints well without reducing them to stereotypes or caricatures. It dramatizes the "war-weariness" that occurred as the struggle dragged on over the years, the effects of frustration, and how even intelligent, well-meaning people can lose their balance and their tempers. Look Away, Look Away, is, at once, an inspiring and sobering documentary about the dynamics of public controversy in modern America"
- John Coski, Historian and author of The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem
“While a flag represents an entire state and its change must be supported by the people, the instigation of such change usually lies with a few committed activists. Look Away, Look Away traces the arc of the final years of activism aimed at updating Mississippi’s flag, presenting with compelling first-person accounts the roles of key actors (pro and con) leading to the eventual success in 2020”
- Ted Kaye, Renown Vexillologist and Author of Good Flag, Bad Flag
"This film is an effective exposition to a discrete era in Mississippi and national U.S. history, chronicling arguments taking place over threatening symbols and monuments and calls for their removal"
- EMRO (Educational Media Reviews Online)
FILM FESTIVAL SELECTION
2021 Oxford Film Festival
2021 Georgia Film Festival
AWARDS
Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians
"Outstanding programming on television, or in documentary film, concerned with American history, the study of American history, and/or the promotion of American history"
“Best Documentary” - Audience Awards Oxford Film Festival
“Best Film”- Audience Awards Oxford Film Festival
“Best Mississippi Film” - Audience Awards Oxford Film Festival
“Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature for adept handling of a complicated topic” - Oxford Film Festival Jury
2021 Oxford Film Festival
2021 Georgia Film Festival
AWARDS
Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians
"Outstanding programming on television, or in documentary film, concerned with American history, the study of American history, and/or the promotion of American history"
“Best Documentary” - Audience Awards Oxford Film Festival
“Best Film”- Audience Awards Oxford Film Festival
“Best Mississippi Film” - Audience Awards Oxford Film Festival
“Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature for adept handling of a complicated topic” - Oxford Film Festival Jury
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Look Away, Look Away
Directed by
Patrick O'Connor Run time: 89 min Public Performance Rights Licensing:
Starting at $299 Organizations & institutions please contact info@passionriver.com today for a quote Genres: Documentary, History
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Logline:
After an avowed racist murders nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, battle lines are drawn in Mississippi to determine the fate of the state flag with the most powerful and divisive symbol of the Confederacy.
After an avowed racist murders nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, battle lines are drawn in Mississippi to determine the fate of the state flag with the most powerful and divisive symbol of the Confederacy.
Long Synopsis:
On the surface, Look Away, Look Away is the story of the five-year battle over the state flag of Mississippi, the last of the original Confederacy to still have the Rebel flag in its design – a fact that warmed the hearts of many white Mississippians, and pissed off most of their African-American and progressive white neighbors.
The flag issue came to a head in 2015 when Dylann Roof murdered nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, and investigators discovered a racist manifesto and photos of Roof posing with Confederate flags.
The backlash against symbols of Southern heritage was swift. South Carolina removed a large Confederate flag from the state house grounds, NASCAR asked fans not to bring Confederate flags to races, and Walmart, a mainstay of southern retail, stopped selling Confederate-themed merchandise in its stores.
But one state remained steadfast in its commitment to this symbol of the Confederacy: Mississippi was the last state of the original Confederacy to still include the Rebel flag within its official state flag.
Citizens were fiercely divided.
Shot over the course of five years, Look Away, Look Away captures the fierce battle to remove the Mississippi state flag, and sheds light on how race, heritage, and long-simmering grievances over the Civil War shapes our sense of who we are as Americans.
On the surface, Look Away, Look Away is the story of the five-year battle over the state flag of Mississippi, the last of the original Confederacy to still have the Rebel flag in its design – a fact that warmed the hearts of many white Mississippians, and pissed off most of their African-American and progressive white neighbors.
The flag issue came to a head in 2015 when Dylann Roof murdered nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, and investigators discovered a racist manifesto and photos of Roof posing with Confederate flags.
The backlash against symbols of Southern heritage was swift. South Carolina removed a large Confederate flag from the state house grounds, NASCAR asked fans not to bring Confederate flags to races, and Walmart, a mainstay of southern retail, stopped selling Confederate-themed merchandise in its stores.
But one state remained steadfast in its commitment to this symbol of the Confederacy: Mississippi was the last state of the original Confederacy to still include the Rebel flag within its official state flag.
Citizens were fiercely divided.
Shot over the course of five years, Look Away, Look Away captures the fierce battle to remove the Mississippi state flag, and sheds light on how race, heritage, and long-simmering grievances over the Civil War shapes our sense of who we are as Americans.
