A 2015 NETA Award Winner: Content Production - Documentary

Budget: $86,000 ($1550 per minute)
In 1796, Joseph Washington, a distant relative of our first president, purchased 60 acres in Middle Tennessee for tobacco farming. Wessyngton Plantation would thrive off the labor of hundreds of
African Americans. Unlike other plantations only two slaves were ever sold from Wessyngton, resulting in several generations of enslaved families living and laboring together. As a child, author John F. Baker Jr. was mysteriously drawn to a photo of Robertson County slaves in his middle school textbook. When his grandmother explained that he was looking at his greatgrandparents,
he became obsessed with their story. Wessyngton Plantation: A Family's Road to Freedom brings this deeply moving story of pain and perseverance to life.
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdce9dud1c0
The people who made it: Ed Jones; LaTonya Turner; Kevin Crane; Beth Curley

Awards Judges said …

NPT created a wonderful piece by using re-enactments, archival photos, excellent videography and great storytelling in the narration.

Carefully planned shots and clean, unobtrusive edits were perfect for the story. All of the elements for good storytelling are there in perfect harmony.

NPT did it all in six weeks! I gave it a perfect score because they premiered it at the State Museum to a SRO crowd who stayed long after the panelists finished.