ABOUT THE FILM

LONG SYNOPSIS

In the small town of Bladenboro, NC, seventeen-year-old Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a swing set on August 29, 2014. Despite inconsistencies in the evidence, local officials quickly ruled Lennon’s death a suicide, but his mother, Claudia, believes Lennon was lynched.

A few hundred miles from Bladenboro, in Monroe, Georgia, a diverse group of residents, including the daughter of a former Ku Klux Klan leader, annually reenact a 1946 quadruple lynching to make sure that the victims are never forgotten. The reenactors also believe some of the perpetrators may still be living in the area.

Directed, produced, and written by Jacqueline Olive, ALWAYS IN SEASON explores the lingering impact of more than a century of lynching nearly 5,000 African Americans and connects this form of racial terrorism with racial violence today. At the height of their popularity, lynchings attracted tens of thousands of white men, women, and children spectators. They were public events, complete with souvenirs and photographs. Train seats were even specially reserved for out-of-towners to watch. Victims were tortured, mutilated, and photographed for hours. Lynching was like the sport of hunting, and black people were “always in season.”

ALWAYS IN SEASON follows Claudia Lacy as she moves from paralyzing grief to leading the fight for justice for her son. As the film unfolds, Lennon’s case, and the suspicions surrounding it, intersect with stories of other communities committed to breaking the silence of their own recent histories and leading the way to justice.

ALWAYS IN SEASON asks what will it take for Americans to build a national movement for racial justice and reconciliation?

Director Jacqueline Olive

Writers Jacqueline Olive, Don Bernier

Producers Jacqueline Olive, Jessica Devaney

Executive Producers Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen, Jim Butterworth, Daniel J. Chalfen, Patty Quillin, Joan Platt, Regina K. Scully, Geralyn Dreyfous
Supervising Producer for ITVS Michael Ehrenzweig
Executive Producer for Black Public Media Leslie Fields-Cruz

Co-Executive Producers Leslie Berriman & Nion McEvoy, Katy Drake Bettner, Nancy Stephens & Rick Rosenthal, Barbara Dobkin, Jodie Evans

Co-Producers Lisa Valencia-Svensson, Anya Rous

Editor Don Bernier

Cinematographers Patrick Sheehan, S. Leo Chiang
Graphics & Animation by Scott Grossman

Music Osei Essed
Narrated by Danny Glover

FESTIVALS
2019: Sundance (World Premiere)

AWARDS
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency (Sundance)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Blu-Ray