Cries from the Cotton Field

Feature-length documentary saga of Italians who were unscrupulously recruited to work cotton fields in the American South, after the Civil War, and their resilient journey of hope, hardship and faith. Told in first person by parish priest Father Pietro Bandini, a "Moses-like" figure expelled by the Jesuits, who led his flock out of death and despair, to a new beginning in the Ozark hills. The Italian enclave Bandini founded, Tontitown, still thrives in Northwest Arkansas. Arkansas PBS broadcast September 2024. Streaming venues fall 2024. https://vimeo.com/794374250

Directed by

Larry Foley, Ed Eaves

Original language

English

Released

29 March 2025