Photo: Griot Arts
Clarksdale, Mississippi, is known as the birthplace of the blues. The small town is rich with artistic legend and legacy. This history is explored in a 2025 film, Ryan Coogler’s vampire film, “Sinners.” Set in the 1930s, the film is a fresh contribution to the supernatural horror genre, drawing from Clarksdale’s blues roots and rich cultural history. Ironically, there is no movie theater in Clarksdale, Mississippi, so to see their town celebrated on the silver screen, residents have had to drive more than an hour each way. “There’s nowhere to see the movie, and it’s about us,” said Rebekah Pleasant-Patterson, executive director of Griot Arts, a non-profit that focuses on arts education in Clarksdale. That disconnect didn’t go unnoticed. Community members raised their concerns, and the creators of “Sinners” listened. At the end of May, Warner Bros. brought in a cinema-grade projector to host free screenings of “Sinners” in Clarksdale. And now, thanks to Griot Arts, a more permanent solution is underway. The arts nonprofit is transforming the town’s long-abandoned and once-segregated Paramount Theater into a multidisciplinary arts and cultural space. The goal, according to Pleasant-Patterson, is to use the downtown venue to inspire creativity, foster opportunity, and support community development.
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