Change of wind

  • Change of wind
© The Andrew J. Young Foundation, 2010
Genre : Historical
Type : Documentary
Original title :
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 2010
Format : Feature
Running time : 62 (in minutes)

They were two people who lived in the same place, at the same time... but in very different worlds. Their unlikely, perhaps dangerous friendship helped change the world.

She was white. He was black.

She had written a Pulitzer-prize winning novel criticized for perpetuating racial stereotypes. He was one of the fiercest enemies of racism and laid the ground work for the Civil Rights movement in America.

Yet, for nearly a decade, the most famous author in the South corresponded - secretly - with the legendary president of Morehouse College... and eventually became one of the most important financial supporters of the traditionally black school.

Anonymously, Margaret Mitchell provided Dr. Benjamin E. Mays with funds to pay for the medical educations of dozens of promising African American men - a story which only came to light several years ago, and has never fully been told - until now.

While assisting Ambassador Young with "Change in the Wind," researchers at the University of Georgia (where Mitchell's papers are stored in a restricted collection) discovered previously unknown letters which fill in important gaps and explain the author's evolving view on racial disparity in Georgia and the South.

The story is brought to life through the voice talent of a remarkable cast, led by Academy Award-winning actress Joanne Woodward, as Margaret Mitchell. David Oyelowo, who reads the words of Benjamin Mays in the documentary, will soon portray Martin Luther King Jr. in the upcoming motion picture, "Selma," directed by Lee Daniels, a 2010 Academy Award-winner for "Precious."

Documentary Feature

Running Time: 1:41
Year Produced: 2010
Format: HDCam
Country of Origin: USA
Production Studio or Company: The Andrew J. Young Foundation & the University of Georgia

Producer: Andrew Young
Director: CB Hackworth
Writers: Andrew Young & CB Hackworth
Cast (Voice Performances): Joanne Woodward, David Oyelowo, Walton Goggins, Jasmine Guy, Jennifer Holliday, Ted Turner, Martin Luther King III, Kenny Rogers and Cammie King.

For further information, contact:
CB Hackworth, The Andrew J. Young Foundation, 260 14th Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30318. E-mail cbhackworth@andrewyoung.org

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

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