Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt

LONNIE HOLLEY: THE TRUTH OF THE DIRT is an intimate portrait of a self-taught African American visual artist and musical performer from Birmingham, Alabama. Lonnie began creating as a child, after receiving a horrible beating from the white men in charge of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children. 150 lashes from a whip across his legs immobilized him, so his mother gave him ‘art materials’ to keep him busy. With them he mimicked his grandfather, a man who created things around their home from found objects. From that moment forward, for Lonnie, any type of material was source for making beauty from a cruel world. LONNIE HOLLEY: THE TRUTH OF THE DIRT documents a man who sees beauty in what others step on, step over, and leave behind.

Director/Producer:

Co-Producer/Cinematographer:

Winner: Audience Choice, Documentary

– 2017 Macon Film Festival

“This vérité short captures Holley in all his unconventional brilliance.”

– Margaret Mead Film Festival

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Screening History

Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at Northwestern University
Annie May Swift Hall | May 16, 2018
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at The National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art East Building | May 13, 2018
National Broadcast on The World Channel/PTV
Worldchannel.org | January 22, 2018
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at Virginia Film Festival
Virginia Film Festival | November 12, 2017
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at Cucalorus Film Festival
Jengo's Playhouse | November 11, 2017
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at SLIFF
Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis | November 3, 2017
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at Margaret Mead FF
American Museum of Natural History | October 20, 2017
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at Macon Film Festival
Hargray Capitol Theatre | July 23, 2017
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at Macon Film Festival
Theatre Macon | July 22, 2017
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt at SF DocFest
Roxie Theater | June 11, 2017
Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt – premiere at SF DocFest
Roxie Theater | June 6, 2017

Recognition & Press

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