PENSACOLA, Fla., June 22, 2023 ― The American South is known for its boundless creativity, absorbing personalities and evocative landscapes. “Southern Storytellers,” a new three-episode series from PBS, Arkansas PBS and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Craig Renaud, follows some of the region’s most compelling and influential contemporary creators to the places they call home — the communities that fertilize the stories they tell in books, songs, poems, plays, and on screens large and small.
In advance of the series premiere, WSRE PBS will host a free preview screening and writers’ round event starting with a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 14, at the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center. Reservations made at wsre.org/events are requested as seating is limited.
Following the half-hour film preview, local artists from the Pensacola Songwriter Rounds Series — Greg Bond, Katie Dineen, Faithe Franklin and Devan Sean — will share songs they have written, performing in the round.
‘Southern Storytellers’ aims to show the South in an authentic light through the experiences of the region’s writers and creators,” said WSRE PBS Director of Development and Engagement Jennifer Knisbell. “Following a short film screening, we’ll engage with local creators who are telling their own Southern stories through their music and poetry.”
With major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), “Southern Storytellers” traverses the South, from the mountains of Appalachia to the Gulf of Mexico, revealing a vivid patchwork of diverse American stories that celebrate the resilience and joy of Southern people — and the magnitude of gifts from the region’s writers.
Among the film’s featured creatives are some of the most recognized storytellers from the worlds of literature, music, television and film, including authors Jesmyn Ward, Michael Twitty, Angie Thomas and David Joy; poets Jericho Brown and Natasha Trethewey; songwriters Jason Isbell, Thao Nguyen, Lyle Lovett, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Adia Victoria, Amanda Shires and Justin Moore; songwriter/screenwriter/actor Billy Bob Thornton; songwriter/actor Mary Steenburgen; and screenwriters Qui Nguyen and Michael Waldron.
The “Southern Storytellers” documentary series premieres locally at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, July 18 through Aug. 1, on WSRE PBS, video.wsre.org and the PBS app.
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About WSRE: WSRE, a PBS member station licensed to the Pensacola State College District Board of Trustees and supported by the WSRE-TV Foundation, serves as a critical media source for trusted content and a safe media space for children to grow and learn.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mary Riker: 850-484-1211