Mississippi Queen
Directed by: Paige Williams - 63 min. - USA
view the film website
Mississippi Queen charts a woman’s mission to find much-needed answers. Paige Williams travels across the country and through the years, as she explores the distance between her upbringing and her current lifestyle. The south stands as the backdrop and her parents as the main characters - the conflict, as thick as grits.
Growing up a good Southern Baptist girl, Paige learned to love God, first, and then her family. However, her senior year in high school would lead to a relationship with a girl, and all that would turn on its head at the Waffle House, involving an angry mama in a truck, gun included. Over ten years later, Paige attempts to find balance in her marriage to a woman, their newborn son and the fact that her parents run Mississippi’s only ex-gay ministry. The journey is not easy for anyone involved, but it does make for one good story….
However, this story goes beyond just the Williams family. It is about the south, where there is a distinct queer culture that manages to thrive despite the religious fervor or, perhaps, because of it. Paige interviews gays who find no incongruity with going to church and loving the Lord and then those who feel they can’t be a part of religion without being judged. She talks to former homosexuals who converted due to their commitment to Christ and the wish to no longer sin. She also meets with the people who want to help them change.
At the heart of the film, though, is the middle ground where Paige and her parents attempt to meet. They don’t always get there, but the making of Mississippi Queen helps them get a little closer-- to God and each other. Perhaps Judy puts it best, though, when she says, “Let God be God and let me just be your mama.” Everything else will eventually fall into place.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
7:00 pm
at Young Blood
get your All Access Pass today!
DOWNLOAD THE 2009 AUFF / DOCUFEST PROGRAM!
