Sky Carp to host "TILL" at BIFF

BELOIT -- The powerful 2022 motion picture Till, examining the 1955 lynching of teenager Emmett Till in Mississippi, will come to Beloit during the final weekend of the Beloit International Film Festival. Members of the Till family will be present for the free screening on Saturday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Weissberg Theatre in the Beloit College Powerhouse.

The film, and the visit by members of the Till family, are being made possible by Quint and Rishy Studer, owners of the Beloit Sky Carp minor league baseball team and supporters of many local charities.

“Till is a film that needs to be seen,” says Quint Studer. “As recent events have triggered a new wave of social justice movements, this film reminds us of what it was like, before smartphones and body cams, and the brutal event that triggered the civil rights movement 70 years ago. We want to preserve the legacy of Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice as we work to inspire a new generation. We are grateful to BIFF for making room in the schedule and to the college for providing the setting.”

“The horror of the murder and the heroism of Mamie Till will remain with audiences long after the screening ends,” notes BIFF Executive Director Greg Gerard.

Present for the screening will be Deborah Watts, founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, and her daughter Teri Watts, a Foundation director. Established in 2005, the foundation works to bring awareness to Emmett Till’s place in history and relevance today, offering programs and scholarships, and educating and empowering youth, women, and their families.

The film, rated PG-13, tells the story of the teenager from Chicago visiting family in Mississippi when he was accused of whistling at a white woman. A few days later, a gang of the woman’s relatives abducted and tortured him before throwing his body in the Tallahatchie River.

When his mutilated body was recovered and brought home to Chicago, his mother demanded a public open-coffin funeral to expose the world to what had happened to her son. Photos of his body set fire to a civil rights movement

The film is directed by the Nigeria-born Chinonye Chukwu and stars Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Jamie Renell, Whoopi Goldberg and Sean Patrick Thomas.

The Beloit College Powerhouse is located at 850 Pleasant St. in Beloit. While tickets for the event have already been spoken for, if there are any returned, they will be available at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/till-movie-screening-tickets-551667391017

2023 marks the 18^th season of the Beloit International Film Festival, the region’s major international cultural event. BIFF is generously sponsored by the Hendricks Family Foundation and Visit Beloit in association with Beloit College. Support for the Festival comes from area businesses and civic organizations, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Critical individual support for BIFF is provided through gifts and membership in the BIFF Film Society of Beloit.