‘Flat Town’ premieres on LPB, documentary filmed in Ville Platte about football and racial unity

(BATON ROUGE, LA.) – Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) in partnership with Reel South, will premiere the sixth season of the PBS series with seven new films, highlighting stories of the American South. LPB kicks-off the series with a virtual premiere and filmmaker discussion of the Louisiana based film Flat Town, on Thursday, April 1, 2021 at 6:30 PM. The broadcast premiere airs a week later on April 8, 2021 at 7:00 PM on LPB’s statewide network.

Flat Town is a 30-minute documentary that takes a look at the town of Ville Platte’s annual exhibition football game, known as the Tee Cotton Bowl. Played between the majority-Black public school and the majority-White private school, the film looks at a history of segregation and integration and how sports can be used as a tool for intergenerational racial unity. The film is directed by Bryan Tucker and produced by Gavin Sullivan.

“Exploring different perspectives and providing a platform for those perspectives to be seen and heard is part of public media’s mission,” says LPB President and CEO Beth Courtney. “LPB is proud to team with Reel South and our public media partners to make sure these diverse Southern experiences are seen by a national audience.”

Panelists for the virtual screening and conversation will be Jennifer Vidrine, Mayor of Ville Platte; Tim Fontenot, Founder of the Tee Cotton Bowl; and filmmaker Bryan Tucker. Go to www.lpb.org/flattown to RSVP for the free virtual event. Hosting will be Acadiana-based sports writer and talk-radio host, Raymond Partsch.