NESHOBA, the documentary film that finally tells the true story behind the "Mississippi Burning" murders, will have its New York premiere at this year's New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.. NESHOBA is directed by Micki Dickoff and Tony Pagano. The premiere will be held at the Village East Cinema, 181 2nd Avenue at 12th Street on Saturday, September 20th at 6:00 p.m. Directors Dickoff and Pagano will attend the premiere.
"I'm so excited the film is premiering in New York City, my home town and where Tony has lived and worked for 30 years," says Dickoff. "When Ben Chaney, also a New Yorker, called me about making a film about his brother's murder, I jumped at the chance."
Dickoff, an award-winning filmmaker and social activist, was haunted by the slayings of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, kids only a few years older than she was at the time, who were murdered for doing the right thing during the famed minority voter registration drives in the southern states of the U.S.
"In 1964, the Klansmen bragged about what they did. I was offended by the lack of truth and justice in the case," Dickoff explains.
Teaming with Pagano, an award-winning director of photography, they began shooting NESHOBA on the 40th anniversary of the killings in Neshoba County, Mississippi where the three civil rights workers were slain in 1964. Pagano makes his feature directorial debut on NESHOBA.
"When Micki introduced me to Andrew Goodman's mother Carolyn, I knew I needed to tell this story," says Pagano. "Micki's passion for the truth and Carolyn's passion for justice were doubly inspiring."
Through intimate interviews with the families of all three victims, candid interviews with black and white Neshoba County citizens, and exclusive first-time interviews with 80-year-old preacher Edgar Ray Killen, the alleged mastermind of the killings, the film explores whether the prosecution of one unrepentant Klansman constitutes justice and whether healing and reconciliation are possible without telling the unvarnished truth.
"With a black man running for President in 2008 - unthinkable 40 years ago - our film serves as a current reminder of how far we've come in race relations and how far we need to go," says Dickoff.
The Chaney family will also attend the screening.
For tickets, contact: www.nyfilmvideo.com
For more information about the film, contact: neshobafilm@yahoo.com
To view NESHOBA Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=H0UJtv48DqI&feature=email
To view NESHOBA Productions Stills, Director Bios, Trailer: www.myspace.com/neshoba film