Courtesy subSIPPI
The subSIPPI crew members Laren Cioff, left to right, Greg Gandy and Vincent Jude
Chaney pose for photo while on set
Grab a ticket, slip on your dancing shoes and raise a glass to Mississippi at the Lyric’s screening of “subSIPPI” this Saturday. The Oxford premiere of the documentary begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes live music by The Blues Doctors, Pale East and the Homemade Jamz Blues Band.
“SubSIPPI,” which received an honorable mention at the 36th annual Big Muddy Film Festival, features some of Mississippi’s subcultures that fall loosely under four categories: art, religion, agriculture and lifestyle. The documentary is heavily dependent on the moving image rather than dialogue, which is what makes it unique, according to Vincent Chaney, director of “subSIPPI.”
“It’s more heavily influenced by the moving image than the dialogue,” Chaney said. “I wanted the images to speak for themselves and evoke certain emotions independent from what I want to say about these people.”
After its premiere in Jackson, Donna Ladd, editor of the Jackson Free Press, praised “subSIPPI” in an October editor’s note, especially its use of what she called “European pacing.”
“… It wasn’t constant talk or action,” Ladd wrote. “They told much of the story through powerful images from around Mississippi — from farm workers to artists on the Coast to young people playing in front of abandoned houses in Jackson.”
Chaney said the focus on the moving image and its emphasis on Mississippi subcultures drive the film’s philosophy.
“The philosophy behind the project is unifying subcultures and making your neighbor your friend,” Chaney said. “There are a lot of people who have been inspired by ‘subSIPPI’ and have sought out people that were in the film or have taken initiative.”
For the Mississippian, Chaney said he hopes that “subSIPPI” will cause this type of communal response among natives and that it will be a readily available, factual resource about Mississippi.
“SubSIPPI is a way for (Mississippians) to be able to very concretely see what’s going on and how they can plug in,” Chaney said. “If we really want to take pride in where we come from, we need to know our neighbors. We need to know what’s going on around us. It’s not a film that says, ‘Let’s carry on the tradition.’ It is a film that says, ‘This is where we are, up to date.’”
The pride that “subSIPPI” encourages among Mississippians combined with its honest account of the state today is why Ladd called it “a hopeful story, but not a hopelessly naive one.”
“We are not either/or,” she wrote. “We have not recovered from our past, but we are not stuck there, either. We are changing. We are a work-in-progress, and we must use every tool, every history lesson to help us complete this journey.”
Chaney said he also loves Mississippi because of the progress the state has made without forfeiting its culture.
“What I love about Mississippi is our story,” he said. “The progress we’ve made without sterilizing and losing the culture that was here is unique to Mississippi. Even though Mississippi doesn’t have much, it still has the roots — for better or for worse. My favorite thing is seeing the energy that’s here right now given its story — given its very suppressed recent history in action between race and economic factors.”
Oxonians have the opportunity this weekend to celebrate Mississippi’s story and progress while experiencing the unity that “subSIPPI” creates.
“It’s not just a movie,” Chaney said. “This is something that everyone should be on fire for because (unity) is happening even at the screening. What you witness in the film is the unification of people, and what’s going on at the screening is the unification of people.”
Chaney said to expect a good time.
“We’ll have DJs, photo booths and bands,” he said. “We really try to get people to get dolled up, have a good time and really get behind the idea of what ‘subSIPPI’ is.”
Tickets for the Oxford premiere are available now at the Lyric’s website and are $10 in advance and $15 on Saturday.
