Aug. 23, 2024
Film explores immigrants’ journey from Northern Italy to Arkansas
CONWAY, Ark. (Arkansas PBS) — “Cries From the Cotton Field,” a film by Larry Foley, will premiere on Arkansas PBS and stream at myarpbs.org/live Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. The film follows the journey of 19th-century immigrants from their homes in northern Italy through the difficulties of relocating to the Arkansas Delta, and ultimately to the flourishing community of Tontitown, which has become a haven of Italian culture and cuisine in Northwest Arkansas.
After the American Civil War, when African American slaves were freed, Southern plantation owners had a problem – how to harvest cotton when you no longer have an oppressed, unpaid workforce. An Eastern speculator had an idea: he had purchased the massive Sunnyside Plantation in Southeast Arkansas, but the plantation would be worth nothing without workers. In an elaborate scheme, the businessman promised Italian farmers land as sharecroppers, while at the same time offering the mayor of Rome stock in his company if the mayor could supply low-wage laborers, desperate for jobs. Dozens of families were recruited, blessed by the Pope and sent to America, arriving in New Orleans by boat then traveling on to Lake Village, Arkansas.
Life, however, was not as expected as the work was not ideal, and many fell sick or died because of poor work environments. Growing tired of poor conditions, about 40 families followed Father Pietro Bandini to the Arkansas Ozarks which drew similarities to northern and central Italy. Descendants of these families still live today in the Northwest Arkansas community of Tontitown.
In the award-winning film “Cries from the Cotton Field,” Foley travels from the annual Tontitown Grape Festival to Italy, interviewing key historians.
Encore presentations of “Cries from the Cotton Field” will air on Arkansas PBS Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 3:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 8, at 11:30 a.m.
Larry Foley has been writing, producing and directing documentary films for more than 40 years. His films have earned eight Mid-America Regional Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and 24 Emmy nominations in writing, journalistic enterprise, history, cultural history, special program and community service. His films have also received four Best of Festival of Media Arts awards from the international Broadcast Education Association. Foley will be awarded the Arkansas Press Association Journalism Instructor of the Year at the Third Annual Press Gala.
About Arkansas PBS
Arkansas PBS, Arkansas’s only statewide public media network, empowers learners of all ages by educating, informing, entertaining and inspiring communities. Arkansas PBS serves as a daily and essential resource for Arkansans by creating, sharing, celebrating and driving conversation around Arkansas stories and classic, trusted PBS programs through multiple digital platforms, including livestreaming at myarpbs.org/live, on-demand services and YouTube TV, and the distinct channels Arkansas PBS, Arkansas PBS Create, Arkansas PBS KIDS, Arkansas PBS WORLD and Arkansas PBS AIRS on SAP. Members with Arkansas PBS Passport have extended on-demand access to a rich library of public television programming. Arkansas PBS depends on the generosity of Arkansans and the State of Arkansas to continue offering quality programming. Additional information is available at myarkansaspbs.org. Arkansas PBS is broadcast on KETS (Little Rock), KEMV (Mountain View), KETG (Arkadelphia), KAFT (Fayetteville), KTEJ (Jonesboro), KETZ (El Dorado), KETS (Russellville), KETS (Forrest City), KETS (Gaither) and KETS (Yancy).
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