ABOUT THE FILM

LONG SYNOPSIS

In the heart of Memphis, Walter and Loree Bailey’s Lorraine Motel was both a thriving hub of Black entrepreneurship and a destination for the greatest musicians of the 20th century—a place where Civil Rights demonstrations were planned, musical hits were written, and Black and white artists created history together. A rare, black-owned establishment, The Lorraine served as a safe haven and sanctuary for Black travelers during the Jim Crow era. Then, on April 4, 1968, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. outside Room 306 cleaved that history in two, and the world forgot everything else.

Urgent yet deeply joyful, THE LORRAINE is both a reckoning with the Civil Rights Movement’s unfinished legacy and a celebration of Black excellence and resilience. Renowned documentarian Sam Pollard uses archival footage and music along with the voices of those who lived it to vividly revive what was lost. The film ultimately becomes a story of reclamation: of people, space, history, and identity. Of transforming trauma into light.

THE LORRAINE reminds us that history is never as neatly resolved as we’re taught to believe, and that the fight for justice is still very much evolving.

Director Sam Pollard

producers Dan Braun, Joe Wemple, Ben Braun

conceived and written by Alvin Hall

writers Joe Wemple, Juleyka Lantigua

Executive Producers Alvin Hall, Joe Wemple, Robert Gordon, Rick Brookwell, Peter Kenney, Josh Braun, Julekya Lantigua, Thomas Campbell Jackson, Penny B. Jackson, Sheldon Stone

Co-Producer Masaya Hirose

Editors R.A. Fedde, Masaya Hirose

Director of Photography Henry Adebonojo

original score Christopher North

Post Production Producer Andrew Murray

Original Song “Tell Me Where You’re Going” By Dan Braun, Written by Dan Braun and Alvin Hall

Music Supervisor Margaret Saadi Kramer

FESTIVALS
2026: Tribeca (World Premiere)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download