Sud

Akerman was due to make a portrait of the American south that inspired both William Faulkner and James Baldwin, but changed focus after learning of the racially-motivated murder of James Byrd Jr by three white supremacists just a year before. Interviewees reflect on the attack, racism and the legacy of slavery, but the most searing moments are the contemplative shots of the lush Texas hinterland, as Akerman posits what horrors this beautiful landscape has witnessed.

An unfinished 1973 portrait of a New York juvenile rehabilitation center (the sound rushes were lost) that would have been Akerman’s first documentary.

Total running time 114min.

Also available on BFI Player