Eve's Bayou
Retrospective
Feature | United States | 109 MINUTES | EnglishDrama
Over the course of a Louisiana summer, 10-year-old Eve (Jurnee Smollett) discovers all is not what it seems when it comes to her father (Samuel L. Jackson) and the rest of their affluent family. This riveting southern drama quickly became one of the most acclaimed and successful independent films of 1997.
After the Screening: A conversation with director Kasi Lemmons, producer Caldecot “Cotty” Chubb, Meagan Good (Cisely Batiste), and Lynn Whitfield (Roz Batiste). Moderated by filmmaker Torell Shavone Taylor.
Cast & Credits
Director
Kasi Lemmons
Producer
Caldecot Chubb, Samuel L. Jackson
Executive Producer (Main Credit)
Mark Amin, Eli Selden, Mcik Wechsler, Julie Yorn
Additional Executive Producers
Michael Bennett, Margaret Matheson
Screenwriter
Kasi Lemmons
Cinematographer
Amy Vincent
Composer
Terence Blanchard
Associate Producer
Bobby Rock
Co-Producer
M. Cevin Cathell, Jay Polstein, Cami Winikoff
Cast
Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Jake Smollett, Ethel Ayler, Diahann Carroll, Vondie Curtis-Hall
Panelists
Kasi Lemmons
As an actor, director, writer, producer, librettist, mentor, and educator, Kasi Lemmons is one of the most powerful voices of our time. Her first feature, Eve’s Bayou, is preserved in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Her Oscar-nominated film, Harriet, opened in 2019. She is the librettist of Fire Shut Up In My Bones, Terence Blanchard’s opera, which opened The Metropolitan Opera’s ’21-’22 season. Lemmons is in post-production on the Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and is developing the fantasy-horror series, Ring Shout for Skydance. Lemmons is an Arts Professor at NYU’s Graduate Film Program.
Meagan Good
Meagan Good can currently be seen in the lead role in Tracy Oliver’s series Harlem for Amazon. The show dropped in December 2021 to rave reviews and record numbers. Meagan recently finished shooting Shazam 2 for Warner Brothers/DC opposite Zach Levi and Hellen Mirren. Meagan’s role in the sequel is far more substantial than in the original. The film is set to release in June 2023. Prior to Shazam, Meagan starred in Day Shift opposite Jamie Foxx for 8711 and Netflix. Meagan had two wide theatrical releases in 2019 as the co-lead in The Intruder for Sony/Screen Gems opposite Michael Ealy and Dennis Quaid. Meagan also has a flashy supporting role in Sony Screen Gems’ Monster Hunter opposite Milla Jovovich. On the TV side, Meagan has previously been the lead of Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi drama Minority Report for FOX and the lead in Deception for NBC. She also had a flashy recurring role on Californication opposite David Duchovny which she reprised for Tom Kapinos on White Famous. Prior to that, Meagan starred in the Think Like a Man franchise. In 2013, Meagan starred in Anchorman 2, in which she played Ron Burgundy’s (Will Ferrell’s) boss and love interest.
Torell Shavone Taylor
Torell Shavone Taylor is a storyteller dedicated to highlighting authentic stories that feature women and people of color. Torell worked as a film programmer for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture where she programmed films for NMAAHC’s state-of-the-art Oprah Winfrey Theater. In 2018, She lead the team for the first-ever inaugural Smithsonian African American Film Festival. She wrote “Celebrating Black Women Directors: 11 Sundance Filmmakers You Should Know” for Sundance Institute. Torell served on the 2021 and 2022 Tribeca Film Festival narrative and documentary screening committees. She received her MFA in Film Production from Howard University.
Cotty Chub
Cotty Chubb is an American movie producer and executive. He has produced eleven films, executive-produced eight more, and, as an executive, supervised several dozen pictures, in a variety of financing and distribution environments over a number of decades. Two of his films, Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger and Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou, have been selected for the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Jurnee Smollett
Jurnee Smollett is an award-winning actress and activist. She made her breakthrough performance at the age of 11, starring in Eve's Bayou opposite Samuel L. Jackson and has gone on to be involved in several other critically acclaimed projects and box office hits including The Great Debaters and Temptation. On the TV side, she has had memorable roles in HBO’s True Blood and NBC’s hit shows Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. Most recently, she starred in Lovecraft Country for which she earned Emmy, Critics Choice and NAACP Image Award nominations for “Best Lead Actress in a Drama.” Up next, Smollett will be seen in the Netflix original, Spiderhead.
Lynn Whitfield
Lynn Whitfield is an Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for her portrayal of Josephine Baker in HBO’s The Josephine Baker Story. Lynn is a four time NAACP Award winner and Gracie Award winner for her starring role in OWN's, Greenleaf. Previous films: Eve’s Bayou, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Taking the Heat, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion, Stepmom, and Head of State. Recent projects: Vacation Friends and Nappily Ever After. She has performed in several off-Broadway shows including For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf opposite Alfre Woodard.
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