Synopsis
Family, football, and history come to life in an intimate portrait of the Dean family, longtime residents of the historic town of Pahokee, Florida. We take a journey back home, with filmmaker Ira McKinley, to the land of sugarcane, as he reconnects with his niece Bridget and nephew Alvin and explores their shared family history that spans seven generations. Told through stories that transcend space and time, Outta the Muck presents a community, and a family, that resists despair with love, remaining fiercely self-determined, while forging its own unique narrative of Black achievement.
Filmmaker Biographies
Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer) is a filmmaker and activist and the director/producer of the award-winning documentary The Throwaways. Born in Upstate New York he is now based in South Florida where Outta the Muck is set. Ira started his activism in the 1980’s when he participated in Act Up in Ithaca, NY. During the winters of 2007/2008 he started a Homeless Arts Showcase in Northampton, MA’s Pulaski Park which was inspired by his fifteen years being homeless himself. Ira is the recipient of the 2014 ACLU Carol S. Knox award, 2013 MLK Storytelling + Activist Award from Siena College, 2009 Northampton Arts Council’s Emerging Filmmaker Award, and was the 2009 Producer of the Year for Northampton Community Television. His current film Outta the Muck tells the story of his family roots in Pahokee, FL and is being produced with support from ITVS, JustFilms, Sundance, and Southern Documentary Fund.
Bhawin Suchak (Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor) is an educator, filmmaker, and founding member/co-executive director of Youth FX, a media arts organization focused on empowering young people of color in Albany, NY and around the world by teaching them creative and technical skills in film and digital media while supporting self-determined communities of emerging artists. Bhawin also co-directs NeXt Doc, a year-round fellowship program that exists to amplify the voices of documentary filmmakers of color between the ages of 20-24 years old. Bhawin is the co-director, producer, cinematographer and editor of Outta the Muck (2022), a feature length documentary supported by ITVS, JustFilms, Sundance, and Southern Documentary Fund. He previously co-directed, The Throwaways (2014) with Ira Mckinley, and Free To Learn (2004).
Schedule
November 1-21, 2022
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 - Pikeville, Kentucky
University of Pikeville with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer)
Thursday, November 3, 2022 - Lexington, Kentucky
Living Arts and Science Center with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer)
Friday, November 4, 2022 - Nashville, Tennessee
Global Education Center & Fisk University with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer), at Fisk University
Saturday, November 5, 2022 - Wilmington, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Cucalorus Film Festival, Working Films, and WHQR Public Media with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer)
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - Atlanta, Georgia
Spelman College with Bhawin Suchak (Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor), restricted to students
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - Winston-Salem, North Carolina
a/perture cinema with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer)
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - Birmingham, Alabama
Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema with Bhawin Suchak (Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor)
Thursday, November 10, 2022 - Cleveland, Mississippi
Bologna Performing Arts Center, Delta State University with Bhawin Suchak (Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor)
Tuesday, November 15, 2022 - Sarasota, Florida
WSLR with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer)
Thursday, November 17, 2022 - Miami, Florida
O Cinema with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer) & Bridget & Alvin (Film Protagonists)
Saturday, November 19, 2022 - Hapeville, Georgia
City of Hapeville with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer)
Monday, November 21, 2022 - Clemson, South Carolina
The Arts Center of Clemson & Clemson University World Cinema Studies Department with Ira McKinley (Director, Producer, Writer)