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Reaching Out of a Painful Past

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Posted on July 19, 2002

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property

The more clearly we remember our past, the more clearly we are able to deal with its resonance in our present lives. As Associate Producer of Charles Burnett's documentary film, "Nat Turner, A Troublesome Property", I had the opportunity to pilot the cast, crew and the local community through a rare opportunity to experience and acknowledge our collective memories. The film explores a highly controversial subject, namely Nat Turner, the leader of the most significant slave revolt in US history. Ultimately, the film tackles a critical issue in American life: race relations. I hope this story may provide a model for engaging communities touched by the subject of a documentary. It illustrates that the making of a documentary, not just the documentary itself, can be a starting point for dialogue. In this case the media is the message.

Charles Burnett directing the young Nat Turner (James Upher)

The Nat Turner story is a challenging one to tell. In 1831 Virginia, an educated slave Nat Turner, inspired by Biblical history, incites a group of fellow slaves to slay their local slave-owning families. This brutal night of violence in which men, women and children were killed provoked unspeakable retaliations.

"Nat Turner, A Troublesome Property" charts Nat Turner's influence from the time of the slave revolt, through the racial turmoil of the 1960s, to the present day. The film is part documentary, part fictional representation using sources from history, literature and memory to recreate the conflicting depictions of the slave leader. Six different actors portray Turner to illustrate these shifting points of view.

The director of the film, Charles Burnett, first gained fame as a key figure in the Los Angeles Rebellion of the 1970s, the name given to a movement of young African American filmmakers who charted new territory in independent film. He is probably best known for his superb fiction film, To Sleep With Anger, starring Danny Glover.

The Nat Turner story deals with issues of power and inequity, confronts the flashpoints of racism and political violence, and crosses what can be a precipitous racial divide. It is a story that slices through the communal memories of a place, and this is one of the challenges we faced in making the film. While on location in Virginia, the Executive Producer, Frank Christopher, asked me to invite to the set descendants of people from both aspects of the insurrection. Frank also suggested I invite local historians, artists, funders and press, anyone who might wish to bear witness to the filming of the dramatizations. Many of those invited had participated in the interviews to be included in the film, and many held fierce, passionate and often contradictory opinions on the subject of the film.

I felt surprised and a little anxious by the decision to open the set to the community at any time. This is highly charged subject matter, and we knew it could provoke heightened feelings in the community. Even Director Burnett, a man known for his sensitivity and gentle nature, said he met white men who were still fighting the Civil War. Race is the most volatile subject of American life and the wounds of slavery are not healed.

We were not sure that any of the people invited would actually come to the set, but come they did. Since I had been the one to persuade them to attend, they frequently asked for me to accompany them while they witnessed the recreation of these historical events. For some it was an experience of almost unbearable intensity. Some described a confluence of emotions: the pain of having to witness the violence of the story, yet an exultation that the story was finally being told. I will never forget the experience of having a tall, reed-thin, older gentleman, a descendent of slaves, weep openly in my arms.

On our last day of the shoot, our location was Patrick Henry's courthouse in Hanover, VA, so named for the Revolutionary War hero with whom we associate "Give me liberty or give me death." Descendants from both sides of insurrection arrived with their families. History was a palpable presence there, and one could sense the tension when the Black and White descendants of the conflict met for the first time. I introduced people: "Mr. Francis, I'd like you to meet Mr. Turner," -- their very names are charged with history. In this case they paused for a moment, looked each other in the eyes, then reached out their hands to one another. In acts of graciousness and civility, they sat together. Their families joined them in the courthouse pews behind rows of costumed extras. They listened to actors' voices ring out in scenes based on the actual trial transcript. Mr. Francis' and Mr. Turner's descendents both sat and listened in the very same courthouse that our forefathers voiced the first notions of revolution: ideals of the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

During breaks they talked with one another, discussed their presentation, their family memories, and made suggestions. They shared their points of view with us and with each other. The collective experience of filming spilled out of the courthouse and onto the lawn outside. Costumed extras, members of the community, the crew and even the local judge, in full regalia, joined us to preside over this new trial of Nat Turner. There was laughter, grace and the kind of communal spirit that a film set can generate.

Quiet! Rolling... Action! In the hush of this courtroom, gaffer and judge, director and witness, producer and extra shared the power of concentration on this stark moment in our collective history. In the truest sense of outreach, we engaged a community. Letting an audience into our creative process, and sharing this experience with the community, led to a powerful dialogue that I hope will have a far reaching effect on the community.