Credit: Maya Suchak / Directors Bhawin Suchak and Ira Mckinleyīhawin, you spent so much time meeting the people of Pahokee. I had the story, but Bhawin and his people from Youth FX were the ones that came and documented the story. Asking people for money just so we can go down there and shoot. We had to do it through crowdfunding and all this other stuff. We were there through the whole thing, just trying to raise money to go back and forth, back and forth, you know. The high school football players went undefeated. We couldn’t get a better script than what we’re trying to do. Then the next year, when we were in production, which was 2016, they were undefeated. We went there in 2015, and we saw the excitement. There are other kids, you know, people I haven’t met. My niece, whom we featured in there, her son was just a baby when I left. show that story of me reconnecting to this place, a historical place a lot of history, and going back there after 35 years of being gone. All that came up while I was doing The Throwaways, and I thought it was a great opportunity for us, especially me, to reconnect. The history goes back a hundred years, like Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the hurricane, Harvest of Shame, the Edward R. The opportunity arose to spread a spotlight on a place that has produced many NFL players, but it’s still poor. , The Throwaways, it’s police brutality and mass incarceration, so the things that we were working on were about social justice. The last time I was in that area was when we buried my father. There was a book called Muck City that came out. When you’re doing research like I was doing and working on the first film, secondary things were popping up, and articles were being written. Ira Mckinley: While I was doing The Throwaways, things started popping up. Ira, take me through the origins of exploring your family through Outta the Muck. That’s what is powerful about the role that football plays in the community. I think this film shows you that while football is, at this point, a very high-level sport, and there’s a lot of money involved when you look at it from the community perspective, it’s also a place for people to come together and build unity. I think it comes at a time when you’re about to have the Super Bowl, so football is in people’s consciousness. The stories of Black communities and the historical context they have come up through and how history has impacted the present times, I think, are really woven into this in a beautiful way. Yeah, I’m very excited because this is such a powerful story that comes at a perfect time in this country’s history. We’ve been on the festival circuit and doing community tours with the film, so we’ve been showing it to audiences in person. I didn’t want to make another feature doc, to be honest with you, but I was convinced because Ira had a really incredible story. I was feeling really overwhelmed and tired. I was at first reluctant because it just takes so much work. Then Ira had this idea that he wanted to really pursue another film about his family’s history. We worked on a film called The Throwaways that we released in 2014. Ira and I, this is our second film working together. And obviously, with the documentary, nothing’s scripted, right? We have to come up with the story and the concept. Has it hit you that the world will soon see this film?īhawin Suchak: I think the process of making a documentary feature is a long one that includes a lot of development and research work before you actually start producing. Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.ĭigital Trends: This entire process has been a seven-year-long journey. Credit: Maya Suchak / Football Team lined up In an interview with Digital Trends, Mckinley and Suchak discuss the seven-year journey behind Outta the Muck, the biggest misconceptions about Pahokee, and the messages to be taken away from the film. Through intimate stories of love and despair, Outta the Muck depicts a new perspective on Pahokee, a city built on Black achievement, resilience, and appreciation for its community. Along with his co-director/producer Bhawin Suchak, Mckinley returns to Pahokee to reconnect with his niece and nephew as he explores his family’s history and chronicles the lives of the city’s residents. And while football may draw the headlines, Pahokee is a city with a long track record of triumph, tradition, and tragedy.įilmmaker Ira Mckinley sets out to paint his hometown of Pahokee in a new light with the upcoming documentary Outta the Muck. Pahokee is known as “the Muck” because of the nutrient-rich soil on the shores of Lake Okeechobee. With less than 6,000 residents, the rural city has produced numerous football players who went on to play in the NFL, including Anquan Boldin Sr., Janoris Jenkins, and Rickey Jackson. The city of Pahokee, Florida, is perhaps best known for its high school football team.
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