Institute History
Description
Shot on location in Kampala, Uganda, and Mississippi, Mira Nair’s second feature film tells the story of an upper-class Indian family forced to flee Idi Amin’s tyranny in 1972. After nearly two decades of travel and expatriate existence, they find themselves in Greenwood, Mississippi, where they join relatives in running a motel. Their daughter, Mina, is basically “Westernized” and also capable of achieving more than the day-to-day jobs at the motel. When she meets Demetrius, an enterprising young carpet cleaner, their relationship creates an uproar amongst their respective family and friends. The closet racism that has remained hidden behind a veneer of unity rears its ugly head, resulting in dire consequences.
With an interracial relationship at its center and Indian American filmmaker at its helm, Mississippi Masala explored the intersecting issues of racism, colorism, and displacement with extraordinary nuance at a time when these types of stories were scarce. The film screened in the 1992 Sundance Film Festival at the Opening Night in Park City. Mississippi Masala’s 4K digital restoration, which will screen at the upcoming Festival, was undertaken by Janus Film and the Criterion Collection and supervised by Nair and cinematographer Ed Lachman.
"Welcome to Black and brown skins in the same frame, to my 30-year-old but still radical film, Mississippi Masala! We gathered movie stars from all across the world to tell this tale of Idi Amin's expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972 and their prickly embrace into the Mississippi Delta. This was a movie that went missing, until I tracked the only print available to a music store in Nashville, Tennessee. The owner turned out to be a major fan and sold me back the rights of the film for one dollar,” said Nair. “What you're about to see is a beautiful 4K restoration undertaken by Criterion and supervised by legendary cinematographer Ed Lachman and myself.”
Park City screening to be followed by a conversation with director Mira Nair and more.
This film contains sexual content.
Screenings include closed and open captions./