Descendant (2022 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Margaret Brown
- Kern Jackson
- Margaret Brown
- Kyle Martin
- Essie Chambers
- Justin Zweifach
- Zac Manuel
| Descendant | |
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 Netflix release poster | |
| Directed by | Margaret Brown |
| Written by |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
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Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Descendant is a 2022 American historical documentary film directed by Margaret Brown, chronicling the story behind Africatown in Alabama, and the descendants of the last known enslaved Africans brought to the United States aboard the Clotilda. The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it was picked up for wider distribution by Higher Ground Productions and Netflix. It received a theatrical release on October 21, 2022, and was available to stream on Netflix that day as well.
In 1808, the United States passed an act of Congress that abolished the international slave trade, making it illegal to bring slaves across the Atlantic Ocean and back to America. However, in 1860, Timothy Meaher sailed his ship Clotilda to Africa and purchased well over one hundred slaves. On July 9, 1860, 110 African men, women, and children, survived that voyage and were dropped off at the Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. William Foster, the captain, burned the ship and tried to destroy any traces of evidence pertaining to this illegal expedition.
Centuries later, the descendants of the slaves on the Clotilda reside in an area near Mobile now known as Africatown. They have fought for justice and worked to find the Clotilda in the river. The wreckage of the Clotilda was found in 2019 in the Mobile River.
This film explores the community of Africatown and the descendants of some of the last known enslaved Africans that were brought to the United States aboard her 40 years after slave trading had already been made a capital offense.
Production and release
After the wreckage of the Clotilda was discovered, director Margaret Brown spent four years with the residents of Africatown examining how the discovery impacted the lives of descendants of the last known slaves brought to the US. Brown also produced the film alongside Kyle Martin and Essie Chambers for Participant and Take One Five Entertainment. The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival,[1] after which it was picked up by Higher Ground Productions and Netflix for theatrical and streaming distribution.[2] It continued on the festival circuit at the SXSW Festival as a Festival Favorite.[3] The film was released to select theaters and on Netflix on October 21, 2022.[4]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 100%, with an average score of 8.4/10, based on 69 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Descendant serves as a fantastically compelling example of how history can be reclaimed -- and a stirring tribute to a resilient community."[5] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 12 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[6] Jake Coyle called it "One of the best films of the year" in his review for the Associated Press.[4] In June 2025, IndieWire ranked the film at number 61 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."[7]
Accolades
Cast
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- Theodore Arthur
- Gary Autrey
- Chris Davis
- Joycelyn Davis
- Willomina Davis
- James Delgado
- Bobby Dennison
- Mary Elliot
- Vivian Davis Figures
- Karlos Finley
- Mike Fitzgerald
- Shiela Flanagan
- Anderson Flen
- Michael Foster
- Patricia Frazier
- Vernetta Henson
- Fredrik T. Hiebert
- Herndon Inge
- Kern Jackson
- Cleon Jones
- Lisa Jones
- Mae Jones
- Annah Lewis
- Ayanna Lewis
- Emmett Lewis
- Rayla Lewis
- Robert Lewis
- Garry Lumbers
- Ralphema Lumbers
