Clarksdale native and journalist Aallyah Wright made sure to lock into the Oscars this past weekend to see how horror film “Sinners’ would fare.
“The magnitude of a studio like Warner Brothers backing a story that's rooted in Clarksdale, I just knew I had to tune in to see what would happen just around “Sinners” in general,” she said. “I was tuning in as a journalist, but also as a Clarksdale native, wanting to see how the story that shaped the film would do in comparison to other films.”
Shamira Muhammad
As "Sinners" wins big at Oscars, Mississippians wonder it may mean for the Delta
Although “Sinners” had been nominated for a historic 16 Oscars, it was a slow start.
“I think starting out, there was a point early on in the ceremony where “Sinners” was like zero and five. Five awards that they were nominated for. They had not won,” Wright said. “I felt a sense of disappointment. I kind of expected more. Thinking about categories like casting, categories like hair and makeup. Categories like costume design and just thinking back to the film and how vividly that imagery was and how authentic it was for the 1930s Mississippi Delta.”
Then, the Oscars announced the winner for best original screenplay.
“I think when Ryan [Coogler] won Best Original Screenplay, I screamed,” said Wright.
Coogler, who also directed the film, had written the movie largely influenced by his family’s roots in Mississippi. The movie, which follows the aftermath of unexpected guests arriving at the opening night at a Delta jukepoint, was culturally and aesthetically based on what the director imagined 1930s Mississippi to feel like. There were actors from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and actors representing members of the Delta Chinese community.
The film was a viral hit and while the rest of the country, and Mississippi, reacted, Clarksdale residents unable to travel to a cinema remained in the dark. The city had been without a theater for more than 20 years.
Inspired by the growing conversation around the film on social media, Clarksdale native Tyler Yarbrough decided to pen an open letter to the people behind the movie.
Wright’s reporting on Yarbrough’s letter and the town's lack of a movie theater attracted the attention of the film's cast and crew, who brought 'Sinners' to the city last year. Now, this weekend's Oscar wins have brought more national attention to Mississippi and the Delta.
“I think it's difficult to say what it will mean for Clarksdale specifically, but what I can say that the film has done at least since, from the beginning of opening weekend to now is that it has brought, more eyes, more national or even international attention to Clarksdale,” said Wright.
Yarbrough and several other Clarksdalians organized Clarksdale Culture Capital in May of 2025, a weekend that featured six free screenings of the movie, panels with Coogler and other members of the film’s crew and cast as well cultural events.
Casey Ladd is with Clarksdale's famed Ground Zero blues club. She says the film has helped spark a deeper sense of community, including through a party held at the club for the film's crew last year.
“That night, everybody came from everywhere,” she said. “Farmers and people that had scraped up change just to buy a beer. It was a gathering of sorts and it was great. It was a great experience.
This past Sunday night, the Oscars featured a similar Delta gathering when it featured a performance of “Sinners” actor Miles Caton’s song, “I Lied to You.” The stage echoed a juke joint and performers from multiple genres of music, dance and art created a visual display of what some Clarksdalians see as their historical lineage to American music.
“It was phenomenal to see our culture here in the Delta represented so well,” said Rebekah Pleasant-Patterson, executive director of Griot Arts in Clarksdale. “To be so well received, I mean, it was a standing ovation. I believe it's really nice when you know the thing that you love about your community, but when other people acknowledge it, you don't need their acknowledgement, but it feels really good to be acknowledged and to be given flowers.”
What this representation of southern culture on such a prominent stage means for Clarksdale is a question Pleasant-Patterson considers, but she believes however the creative economy shifts for the city, it needs to be on local terms.
“I actually believe that the South, we're not chasing Hollywood,” she said. “They're chasing us.”
“Sinners” won an additional three Oscars, including best cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman and Black person to win the category. Michael B. Jordan also won for best male Actor.
John Spann with the Mississippi Humanities Council believes “more stories that are authentic and inclusive are definitely going to be on the minds of more filmmakers.”
“Sinners” was ultimately shot in Louisiana, but Spann hopes the state continues to build on its film infrastructure to support future projects that may want to shoot in Mississippi.
“I don't think this is the last time that Warner Brothers will be in Mississippi to make a movie or any other big film company,” he said. “I really hope, and I think they are, trying to prepare the creatives and young film artists to be prepared for the call, but also making sure that we have the infrastructure. Do we have sound stages? Do we have tax breaks and things to allow for these companies to move more comfortably through the state to film a big box movie, a big budget movie.”