This Memphis Filmmaker is Reframing the Southern Story

Acclaimed Memphis filmmaker Suzannah Herbert turned her lens on a small town in Mississippi, and the result is a nuanced, thoughtful, and sometimes uncomfortable look at the complicated narratives that shape the South. Currently streaming on PBS Independent Lens, Natchez is winning awards and encouraging conversations as it attracts audiences across the nation.

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When did you first realize that storytelling — and documentary filmmaking specifically — was your medium?

In my early teens, I threw myself into organizing our family photo albums. Looking back, it is clear that those were my first visual storytelling and editing projects. I started making films in high school with Rachel Corr Nager, still one of my closest friends today. We started with lighthearted movies, such as one documenting our Top 20 Sites of Memphis.

Then we decided we needed to get serious and make a “real” documentary. We titled it Art & Soul and explored how Memphis influences the creative work of artists and musicians. We interviewed my parents’ friends and the people I grew up around. After long nights of editing flew by in what felt like minutes, I realized filmmaking was my passion.

How did being Southern shape the kind of filmmaker you’ve become?

Oh, how did it not?! A few snapshots of the endless ways the South shapes who I am and my work: listening to my Virginian grandmother holding court on the porch, scotch in hand, telling outlandish and many times offensive stories about our family; the smell of sizzling fried okra mixed with cigarette smoke coming from my Arkansan grandmother’s kitchen each summer Sunday; climbing the enormous magnolia in our front yard and watching the world go by unbeknownst to my neighbors below; being surrounded by poverty but too privileged to be consumed by its claws; absorbing the sounds of the Blues, Stax, Elvis, and Three 6 Mafia everywhere I went; slowly understanding the immeasurable, nationally significant historical events that Memphians bore witness to, many of which still affect us today.

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Natchez allows viewers to sit with discomfort rather than steering them toward easy conclusions. Why was it important to structure the film in that way?

There are no easy answers to the questions raised in the film, and I wanted to embrace the complexities of our country, the South, and humanity rather than flatten them. I hope people will sit with the discomfort, reflect, and then initiate conversations on these topics with their family, friends, and community.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Natchez is that it’s ultimately about much more than one Mississippi town. At what point did you realize the film had become something larger and more universal?

I knew from the beginning that Natchez, the town, is a microcosm of what the nation is contending with, politically and culturally. So many Natchezians rely on historical tourism for their livelihoods and therefore must engage with history on a daily basis. In most towns and cities across America, the past is easy to ignore.

This film holds a mirror up for all Americans to see the lasting effects of our collective history on our lives and communities today.

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How did you build enough trust with people to capture their candid and vulnerable moments on camera?

Time. I started spending big blocks of time in Natchez in 2019, both with and without a camera. I allowed people the time and space needed to share their stories and perspectives with me at their own pace. I was curious to learn about everyone’s views on history and how they approached it on their tours. I did a lot of listening.

You’re having a major career moment right now — sold-out screenings, national attention, and award recognition. What part of this whirlwind has surprised you the most?

The reception has exceeded my expectations in every way. That was surprising for sure. I had no idea how enthusiastically audiences would respond to the film. I’ve heard hundreds of different memories, stories, emotions, and thoughts that the movie has brought up for people, and that to me is the most gratifying.

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What has it been like to see audiences across the country respond to a film that is so deeply rooted in the South?

One of my greatest fears was that audiences outside of the South would laugh at us or use the South as a scapegoat. Thankfully, in my experience screening the film across the country, that couldn’t be further from people’s reactions.

I think audiences see the universality in the stories and the humanity in each person represented in the film. Showing complexity and subverting assumptions in each of our main participants was paramount to my team and me throughout the process.

Documentary filmmaking requires enormous patience and emotional stamina. What keeps you going during the long stretches when a project feels uncertain?

Delusion and obsession! It requires me to be incredibly passionate about the subject, people, and world portrayed. My amazing producer, Darcy McKinnon, keeps me grounded and supported through all the ups and downs.

My team of artistic collaborators, Darcy, Noah Collier (cinematographer), and Pablo Proenza (editor), inspires me to keep making the thing and continue to push to make it better. Finally, the uncertainty and artistic angst very well might get the better of me if it were not for my family, friends, and especially my husband. They are always there to listen, build me back up, and offer wise advice.

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What kinds of stories are pulling at you next?

Something Southern. My long-term goal as a filmmaker is to make a film for every Southern state. So far, I have made one for Mississippi and one for Alabama with Wrestle.

Switching gears a little, what’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?

I had a baby while shooting and editing Natchez. She’s our best roadie on the Natchez release tour.

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Finally, what is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten, and from whom?

When it came to getting this project off the ground, the incredible filmmaker Tia Lessin told me that, in order to raise any money, I had to go out and shoot something. It sounds so simple, but I naively thought that after the success of my first film, Wrestle, someone would just fund my idea. That is hardly ever the case!

LIGHTNING ROUND!

Three things you’re never caught without? My waterbottle, a light jacket for AC-blasted restaurants, and my phone (unfortunately).
Bucket-list vacation destination? Japan
A great book you’ve enjoyed recently? The Oracle’s Daughter: The Rise and Fall of an American Cult by Harrison Hill. It’s a gripping and heartbreaking true story about extremism, womanhood, and family.
A daily ritual you’d never skip? Coffee and reading to my daughter
Favorite snack for a film screening? Wine

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