You Got to Move

Institute History

  • 1986 Sundance Film Festival

Description

You Got To Move powerfully follows people from Southern communities in their process of becoming involved in social change. The central characters in the film have been active in some of the most significant movements in the South in the past 50 years, from civil rights and labor organizing to citizen’s action against toxic waste dumping and strip mining.

The film begins with the civil rights movement and Myles Horton’s founding of the highlander Folk School, which because of its mingling of black and white educational groups and mixed dancing, was labeled subversive and suspected of being communist. It continues to the present day issue of illegal toxic waste dumping in back hollows. The film informs and succeeds on many levels. Rather than focusing strictly on issues, You Got To Move deals with the process of social change and the emergence of leadership. It is as film about personal transformation, courage and commitment, about ordinary people, often uneducated, who decide to empower themselves and make a difference.

Screening Details

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]