My Father's Name

My Father's Name

Directed by Susanna Styron
A father’s secret. A daughter’s reckoning. A nation’s dark legacy.

Overview

Genre
Portrait, Human Interest, Investigation, Cultural History, and Social Issues
Synopsis

Years after Lee Ed Frazier's death, his daughter Jan made a shocking discovery: as a young man her father had participated in a lynching. As she attempts to uncover the truth about what happened, Jan learns that this specific lynching was iconic in American history, because photos of it were the first ever to be published in a national publication. Both Time and Life magazines carried the story and the photos, as they reported on the anti-lynching bill that was before Congress at that very moment. Additionally, she realizes that no names of the lynchers were ever published. Even the photographer was protected by a cloak of agreed-upon anonymity. Shaken by this stark reflection of white privilege and the brutality it sought to minimize, Jan must now reckon with deeply conflicted feelings about the father she loved, find a way to hold her family accountable, and face the dawning awareness of her own unconscious racism.

Stage
finished
Running time
20 minutes

Credits

Production Details

Prod. Co.
Hair On Fire FIlms
Country
United States
Years of Production
2024
Locations
Vermont, New York
Prod. Partners
Foothill Productions

Distribution Details

Release year
2024
Festivals
Berkshire International Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, so far...
Language
English

Photos

830965178a73c89267a823fb5df5fc5b

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