Followed by a conversation with Director Maya Washington.
Through the Banks of the Red Cedar, a play on the Michigan State University fight song, follows the 50 year legacy of the filmmaker’s father, legendary Vikings wide-receiver Gene Washington (College Football Hall of Fame, Big Ten Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award, Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame, 50 Greatest Vikings Honoree) from the segregated South to MSU alongside highly decorated teammates Bubba Smith (Defensive Lineman), George Webster (Rover Back) and Clinton Jones (Running Back) as they become members of the first fully integrated football team in America, later making history as first round picks in the 1967 Draft.
The film unfolds through the eyes of the filmmaker, Maya Washington, Gene's youngest daughter, as she uncovers her father's journey and the impact of this legacy on the present generation. Maya traces her father's footsteps from the segregated south to the north, over the course of a modern football season. As she uncovers both the triumphs and defeats of her father's team, she develops a newly formed appreciation for the game and a deeper connection to her father, just in time to witness MSU Spartan Football team ascend to national prominence 50 years later.
Director Biography
Maya Washington is an award-winning writer/director/producer, actor and poet whose work has garnered fellowships and/or awards from Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Minnesota Film and Television, and others. Her award-winning narrative film White Space (starring ABC Family Switched at Birth’s Ryan Lane) recently aired on network television as a selection of African American Short Films, was nominated for a Black Reel Award, and won Best Short at 2012 MSPIFF. 2018 will mark the release of her latest films: CLEAR (also screening in 2018 MSPIFF) about a woman reconnecting with her teen daughter after a wrongful conviction, and Through the Banks of the Red Cedar about her father, Gene Washington, who was a member of the first fully integrated college football team in America.
FIRST THURSDAYS @ THE CAPRI
A series of films presented in partnership with the Capri Theater on the first Thursday of every month, with speakers invited to lead post-film discussions with audiences.
Browse First Thursday @ the Capri Films