The film, directed by Lexington resident, Jamari Turner, tells the story of Amarr Coleman, a Chicago woodworker who returns to Lexington to attend his grandmother's funeral.
"He's back home trying to figure out what to do," explained Turner. "There are a lot of themes of identity, belonging, legacy, and home ownership."
Though Amarr is a fictional character, the stories he's surrounded by are rooted in real life.
"So the five-week workshop that we did centered intergenerational stories. We had a huge range of ages from 19 to 74," said Turner. "A film is a wonderful place to merge true stories and imagination, and it can inspire us, Black Lexingtonians, to imagine worlds that are really rooted in our own experiences."
Roots and Reels began as Turner's thesis project while a graduate student at the University of Kentucky. She grew up in Lexington's first district, living at times in the Bluegrass-Aspendale Housing Project (around what is now Shropshire) and on Greenwood Avenue, just off of Georgetown Street.
"I remember community. I remember having kids around the corner that I love playing with and a hundred grandmothers and ten mothers," Recounted Turner. "I wanted to do something that picked up those pieces and told those stories, because there's not much formally stored."
Everything and Its Place will premiere at the Kentucky Theater tonight at 7 p.m., with a reception and panel discussion to follow, featuring Maya Brown (director), Emannuel Thurman (actor), Martina Barksdale (actor), Ellis Bryson (writer), Jonathan Hall (actor), Kiah Arnold (production designer), and Emmanuel Fields (director of photography).
Tickets are free and available at the door. You can also reserve one in advance by emailing RootsReelsFilmProject@gmail.com.