Podtalk: Chinonye Chukwu & Danielle Deadwyler for ‘Till’

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CHICAGO – The film “Till” is the story of Emmett Till, a black Chicago boy who was murdered in 1955 while visiting relatives in the American South. Instead of hiding the killing, Till’s mother Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler) chose to show the world the result of her son’s hate crime murder. Chinonye Chukwu directed the film.

Danielle Deadwyler of ‘Till’
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) was a happy-go-lucky 1950s teen in the somewhat protected “black belt” of Chicago, who visited relatives in the Mississippi Delta. In an incident that has more points of view than Rashomon, Till allegedly harassed and wolf whistled at a white woman. He was then kidnapped from his relative’s home and murdered by white vigilantes, his body dumped in a nearby river. When his bloated corpse was sent back to his mother Mamie, she chose to show the world the result of his racist lynching, lighting a flame of truth that still resonates to today.

’Till,’ Directed by Chinonye Chukwu
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Danielle Deadwyler gives a powerful performance as Mamie Till-Mobley, who fought against many forces to make sure the world knew of her son’s murder. Deadwyler has been a working actor since 2010, with “Till” being her first lead role. Director Chinonye Chukwu has multiple short and feature films as director, and received rave notices for her film “Clemency” in 2019. “Till” is her third feature.

Chinonye Chukwu and Danielle Deadwyler
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, director Chinonye Chukwu and Danielle Deadwyler tell of their journey with “Till” …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor, Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com