Reel South

(Episode #510) As a centuries-old black community in Louisiana, contaminated and uprooted by petrochemical plants, comes to terms with the loss of its ancestral home, one man standing in the way of a plant’s expansion refuses to give up. Hosted by Valerie June, REEL SOUTH...

(Episode #509) The Clinton, Mississippi High School Attaché Show Choir is considered to be among the most successful in history. In a region where arts and music funding have been virtually demolished and attitudes to popular music have been slow to change, Clinton public...

(Episode #508 - May 11, 2020) At 84, folk music pioneer Alice Gerrard performs, teaches, and inspires the next generation while safeguarding groundbreaking moments of her past. Hosted by Valerie June, REEL SOUTH is a cooperative documentary series between the South’s PBS-...

(Episode #507) In 1979, a fatal shooting ignites a maelstrom of hostilities against Vietnamese refugee fishermen along the Gulf Coast. Set during the early days of Vietnamese refugee arrival in the U.S., "Seadrift" examines this turbulent yet little-seen chapter of American...

(Episode #506) Henrietta Boggs, a reluctant Southern belle, finds her way to Central America in the 1940s, in search of freedom and adventure. Instead, she is swept up in political upheaval, when her new husband is elected president of Costa Rica. First Lady of the...

(Episode #504) The story of the Charleston Gazette-Mail, a family-owned, Pulitzer Prize-winning local newspaper in West Virginia fighting for survival. Hosted by Valerie June, REEL SOUTH is a cooperative documentary series between the South’s PBS-member stations: UNC-TV...

(Episode #505) LGBTQ West Virginians fight to live free from discrimination, calling us to reimagine the power and longevity of a small town queer community. Hosted by Valerie June, REEL SOUTH is a cooperative documentary series between the South’s PBS-member stations: UNC-...

(Episode #503) After a contentious race, the 2017 runoff for mayor of New Orleans came down to two candidates: Desirée Charbonnet and LaToya Cantrell, two very different black women. The winner of this election would take office as the first female mayor of New Orleans and...

(Episode #502) Much of America’s rich history is being lost to time. In the South, vast amounts of African-American gravesites and burial grounds for enslaved persons have been disappearing over the years. In Virginia alone, stories of thousands at rest could vanish from...

Episode #501 - F11 and Be There is a commentary on American civil rights, race, social justice, and art, told through the many lenses of legendary photographer Burk Uzzle. With a career that spans over 65 years, Burk Uzzle has created some of the most iconic photographs in...

This April, Reel South is poised to showcase the diversity and poignant storytelling of the American South again with the forthcoming Season 5 television series for PBS audiences nationwide. With 10 new films for a 2020 decade, the series embarks on an identity quest for...

Episode #407 - A successful fashion designer who gave up her big-city career, Ingrid Gipson discovered a reclusive life of solitude and unhindered creativity in Arkansas’ rural Ouachita Mountains. As if through poetry, she opens up her world again to those of us willing to...

Episode #406 - One of the most celebrated American garden designers of the past three decades, Ryan Gainey grew up in rural South Carolina, where he developed a deep love of plants from his relatives and neighbors. The Well-Placed Weed explores Gainey’s life and his...

Episode #405 - After 25 years of living in the United States, Guatemalan grandmother Juana Ortega is threatened with deportation and soon takes sanctuary in a small North Carolina church. As time passes, and state lawmakers continue to ignore the family's pleas for a stay...

Episode #404 - Thousands of Chinese students arrive in the United States each year, often confronting loneliness and culture-clash upon arrival. Arriving in North Carolina to study filmmaking, Hao Zhang is surprised to find a unique community of Chinese students, connected...