REEL SOUTH

Kevin and Negest, descendants of enslaved people who were sold by Georgetown University, explain the dark history behind the renowned institution.

Surviving Cuban-American dissidents describe the harrowing battles of the Bay of Pigs invasion, including the “Highway of Death”.

Surviving Cuban-American dissidents recall the early plans for the Bay of Pigs invasion, and how last minute changes made by the US government foreshadowed its failure.

63 years after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, the surviving Cuban-American dissidents tell the fuller story. In detailed interviews with the men who fled Cuba only to return alongside US military forces, they narrate the calamity of the US siege and the trauma they faced as prisoners. By reliving the horrors of war and the fragility of service, these men fill a gap in the military record.

In 1971, one of the worst industrial tragedies in U.S. history shook rural Southeast Georgia. The victims were predominantly Black women, manufacturing trip flares for the Vietnam War. Over 50 years later, survivors and first responders shed new light on the bravery and sacrifice of that day, and a grassroots campaign seeks to award the victims with the Congressional Gold Medal.

Survivors and witnesses of the 1971 explosion at the Thiokol plant in rural Southeast Georgia recall the day that changed their lives forever.

After being mistaken for the enemy by fellow U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, a Japanese-American veteran struggles to overcome his feelings of guilt and anger, find a sense of belonging, and reunite with the soldier from Alabama who saved his life.

Two Vietnam War veterans are reunited after decades of searching for one another.

Season 9 adds new depth to the records America keeps and who gets to define and shape our collective posterity. 10 films offer new perspectives on our shared military, health, and spiritual histories and bring forward voices and stories culled in the name of prosperity. Above all, each film showcases the power of human connection and the communities created in any aftermath.

Trans Lobby Day is here for the state of Texas and Frankie Gonzalez-Wolfe, a trans woman running for San Antonio city council, shares what she as a trans woman took from her experience there as a politician.

Frankie Gonzalez-Wolfe shares her love of politics and San Antonio as she runs for city council in her hometown.

Growing up, Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe learned to be a fighter but never imagined having a chance to make history as the first openly elected transgender official in Texas. Unfolding amidst an onslaught of legal attacks against the trans community, ‘A Run for More’ immerses viewers in Frankie’s journey as she finds her voice, questions her relationship with the community, and tries to win an election.

A Korean-American filmmaker from Alabama explores the complexities of international adoption through the stories of her birth mother and another adoptee in New York. ‘The Space Between You and Me’ is an effort to reclaim a stolen identity while searching for belonging between the worlds of the Jewish South, the Korean-American diaspora, and a fraught legacy of Korean adoption programs.

After living in Asia for over a decade and longing for a taste of home, Jessica opens a Tennessee-style diner out of her home in Jeju, South Korea. But after appearing on one of the country’s most popular television programs, she and her husband Dongseop must adjust to the shock of newfound TV fame, the crowds of curious new customers it brings, and the growing uncertainty of a global pandemic.

Kathlyn and Micheal share their story of how they met, as pen pals, while Micheal was facing a life sentence without parole.

Former Ware supervisor Eleanor Morgan and former detainee Gabryell Hardy speak out about the conditions other juvenile detainees were put under during their respective times at Ware Youth Center.

Suicides at a juvenile detention center in Louisiana raise troubling questions about the facility and the agencies tasked with overseeing it. Thirteen-year-old Solan Peterson had only been at Ware Youth Center for eight days when he took his life while in isolation. ‘8 Days at Ware’ examines Solan’s last days – exposing the system that failed him and a legacy of abuse going back decades.

In a notorious Alabama prison, Michael falls deeply in love and matrimony follows. But when serving a life sentence, without parole, keeping his relationship alive proves too difficult. When Michael is miraculously released after 36 years, can he find a way to rehabilitate his marriage, too?

Sounds of the south can be heard when this Tennessee folklorist plays the banjo and discusses what he calls the “simplistic joy” that the instrument is capable of producing.

“A Dream Uprooted” is an article written by Latria Graham about the struggle of losing her family farm. Here, she tells the story and reflects on this loss and her connection to the land she will no longer call hers.