Bruce native brings documentary to Square Theater
BRUCE, Miss., (WCBI) — A Bruce native’s film is being featured on the Mississippi Hills Festival tour and made a stop in his hometown for a showing.
You’ve heard of Medgar Evers and James Meredith, but have you ever heard of Dr. Donald Cole and the Ole Miss Eight? Filmmakers Antonio Tarrell and Castel V. Sweet are bringing Cole’s story “Cole: Bridge to Justice” to the screen in Bruce.
“This documentary is about Don Cole who was a student at the University of Mississippi, and he was expelled in 1970. And when he was expelled, he decided to pursue his school and finish up at another university. But decided to return back for his doctorate degree a couple of years later and then decided to return back as an administrator,” Sweet said.
Sweet and Tarrell say that Cole changed a lot at Ole Miss and transformed campus. Cole worked to diversify Ole Miss and did work for students in STEM.
Bringing the film to his hometown means a lot to Tarrell.
“For me, it was very important. Born and raised in Bruce, my background is a hairdresser. I’ve been doing hair for 30 years and transitioning over to filmmaking. So for me, I had to bring something back. Castel and I feel like this project is the perfect project to bring back to Bruce,” Tarrell said.
Tarrell says it’s important to tell the stories of people like Don Cole, those who don’t always get the recognition that others have, but it doesn’t mean their impact on the state is any less important.
“Castel and I really feel like this type of work and the work that we do is very important to continue telling that rich history about the state. Some of these people like Don Cole some of the people in the Civil Rights era. So, for us as filmmakers we feel it’s very important. We strive on that, try to share as much knowledge as possible,” he said.
The next stops on the tour are New Albany and a showing in Columbus.
