NYFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Margaret Brown – “Descendant”

Margaret Brown’s documentary work examines the American South, from a seminal film on Townes Van Zandt “Be Here to Love Me,” to the impactful story of the BP oil spill’s lasting impact “The Great Invisible,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW a few years ago. Her film “The Order of Myths,” which examined Brown’s native Mobile, Alabama and its still segregated Mardi Gras celebration, won numerous awards including a Peabody and the Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award. She’s also done short form work for the New York Times and Field of Vision, and recently directed an episode of “Dirty Money” for Netflix.

“Descendant” is screening at the 2022 New York Film Festival, which is taking place September 30 – October 16.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

MB: History exists beyond what is written. The Africatown residents in Mobile, Alabama, have shared stories about their origins for generations. Their community was founded by enslaved ancestors who were transported in 1860 aboard the last known and illegal slave ship, The Clotilda.

Though the ship was intentionally destroyed upon arrival, its memory and legacy weren’t. The long-awaited discovery of The Clotilda’s remains offers this community a tangible link to their ancestors and validation of a history so many tried to bury.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

MB: In making “The Order of Myths,” I was introduced to Africatown. This is a somewhat isolated residential area of Mobile, which is surrounded by big industry, and founded by formerly enslaved peoples who had arrived aboard The Clotilda.

I also became close with a researching Folklorist at the University of South Alabama, Dr. Kern Jackson, who has spent more than two decades recording the oral histories of the Africatown community. The story stayed present in my life, but I didn’t think I would ever revisit it as a filmmaker.

Then, in 2018, a friend sent me an article saying that a ship’s wreckage had been found in the Mobile River, and it was thought to be that of The Clotilda. This would be a monumental discovery, and the national media knew it, for no slaving vessel had ever been discovered in North American waters. But even more starkly for Mobile, what many had always called myth could be proven real, and the story of the Africatown community I had come to know could be verified.

Two weeks later, I headed to Alabama to begin documenting.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

MB: There’s a scene in the film where Anderson Flen, a resident of Africatown who’s been working with fellow community members and preservationists to transform Africatown into a tourist destination that honors the legacy of enslaved Black people, visits the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, often known as the national Lynching Memorial. There’s this moment at the memorial when he says, “The real test a lot of times is not in coming. It’s what do you do when you leave?”

That’s the question I want audiences to ask themselves after seeing this film: Now that I’m a witness to this history and to the injustices that persist because of it, how do I actively participate in the story? What is my responsibility, and how do I engage? I think that’s the key: What you do after watching the film is equally, and arguably more important, than what you think about.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

MB: The greatest challenge in making “Descendant” was by far my own biases as a white person, but luckily Creative Producer Essie Chambers had my back navigating this along with an entire group of collaborators and subjects for whom I’m eternally grateful and continually in awe of their patience and compassion.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

MB: The film was primarily funded by Participant with development grants from Sundance, A&E, and Concordia.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

MB: I went to school to study poetry and was interested in the space where words ended and images began.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

MB: To be completely honest, I’m not quite sure how to answer this because my brain doesn’t necessarily think that way. I don’t know that I can quantify advice I’ve been given so much as I can value the different ways others have helped and inspired me when I’ve needed it most.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

MB: Advocate for yourself because no one else is going to do it for you. And it can be helpful for people to underestimate you.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

MB: “Top of the Lake,” directed by Jane Campion. It’s a show and not a film, but I watch it over and over because I’m in love with her fully drawn characters and silent sense of menace.

W&H: What, if any, responsibilities do you think storytellers have to confront the tumult in the world, from the pandemic to the loss of abortion rights and systemic violence?

MB: I feel that the responsibility you take on, whether it’s cultural, political, moral, etc., should be imbued in your work — meaning it doesn’t have to be overt. It should already be present in your approach as a storyteller.

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make Hollywood and/or the doc world more inclusive?

MB: It comes down to the reality that the people in power need to change, and it needs to be a total rewrite with women and people of color making more of the decisions. Unfortunately, it’s people with the biggest blind spots who have the most seats at the table right now. To build an industry that’s more inclusive, the power dynamic has to seismically shift in a way that’s both deeply meaningful and radical.