MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) will present a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary Rising Hope on September 10, 2024. The event will take place at 6 p.m. in the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Multipurpose Gallery.
Rising Hope explores the theme of hope amidst generational poverty through the lens of community activism in the Mississippi Delta. The feature-length film focuses on the experiences of Shaw residents, including a youth minister, a college student, and local nonprofit leaders, who are working to overcome the effects of poverty and unemployment. The documentary highlights their collective efforts toward economic and racial justice.
The film addresses the root causes of Delta poverty, including industrial relocation, chronic underfunding of public schools, and state policies historically oppressive to Black residents. Interviews in the film reveal the deep connection between suffering and hope, with quotes such as: “(There’s) a lot of pain here, we just need to tell the truth about it,” and “It doesn’t matter where you come from, something beautiful and awesome can happen in your life.”
Rising Hope has garnered significant recognition, winning Best Documentary Feature at the LightReel Film Festival in Washington and being named Top Mississippi Made Feature at the Oxford Film Festival. The Oxford festival praised the film as an “elegant tapestry of human experience” with “beautiful cinematography,” offering a moving exploration of the Delta’s potential.
Directed and produced by Theo Avgerinos, a Santa Fe-based independent filmmaker, the documentary involved years of research and production. Avgerinos, known for films like Fifty Pills and Americons, was inspired by a mission trip to the Delta and returned in 2017 to capture the region’s blend of grit and optimism. “I aimed to explore how and why hope plays such a crucial role in the meaningful community work being done in one of the country’s most economically devastated regions,” Avgerinos said.
Penny Kemp, President and CEO of The MAX, described the screening as a “natural fit” for the institution’s educational mission. “The blend of powerful Mississippi images and personal accounts is well-suited for our platform,” Kemp said.
The screening is free to the public, with light refreshments provided. Members of the filmmaking team will be on hand to answer questions. To register, visit The MAX’s event page.
The event is presented in partnership with the Mississippi Film Society, an organization dedicated to enhancing community engagement through film. Ryan Parker, founder and executive director of the Mississippi Film Society, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, noting the potential for future screenings of both big studio releases and independent films.
