Natchez

3/2/2026

Coming to terms with one’s own dubious past can be challenging, difficult and even embarrassing. That’s true not only for individuals but potentially entire communities. And one such case can be found in the Mississippi River community of Natchez, MS. As the oldest settlement on the Mississippi River, this city of 14,000 today struggles to define its identity as one that celebrates yet accepts its history as a place of both grand elegance and unrepentant human exploitation. Writer-director Suzannah Herbert’s incisive documentary succeeds in presenting a balanced assessment of a community that’s proud of the lavish architecture and beautiful gardens that have come to characterize it as an icon of the Old South (and made it a popular tourist destination) but that has also had to wrestle with