What happens when a British director known for making TV commercials and an American songwriter named Jim White get together to make a documentary about life on the backroads of the deep South?
A film called Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus.
White borrows a rusty 1970 Chevy Impala from a friend — for a price — and heads off down a country road, waxing philosophical all the way. Odd, random developments follow, cast against southern gothic scenes — lush, green swamps, fishing shacks and even a ghostly junkyard full of abandoned school buses. All is interspersed with gritty music from a variety of contemporary southern artists.
The way it all comes together prompts questions about the nature of the documentary genre. Director Andrew Douglas offers his thoughts on a variety of related subjects in a conversation with Debbie Elliott.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.