Christopher Forbes believes people should listen to their grandmothers.
And after four decades, the filmmaker is fulfilling his grandmother’s wish in this year’s Poison Peach Festival Jan. 8-9 at the Imperial Theatre.
As a teenager, he expressed to his family and friends that he would be making films the rest of his life. That met with a lot of skepticism except from his grandmother, who told him he needed to tell the story of Sherman’s March to the Sea.
He recalled her taking him on a drive into the country to see the remains of homes with only their chimneys left standing. They were Sherman’s monuments; what he left in the wake of his famous March to the Sea.
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The stories were so ingrained in her, Forbes said.
“There were four groups of people impacted by Sherman’s march,” said Forbes. “The soldiers of the North; the soldiers of the South; the civilians and the freedmen.”
He’d done research over the years, but it wasn’t until after meeting a businessman with a like vision, that the film came to be. Through Walter Czura, some lesser known pieces of Civil War history came to Forbes attention including an incident at Ebenezer Creek near Savannah that resulted in the drowning deaths of many freed slaves, Forbes said.
The research excited Forbes and ignited his passion to fulfill that dream of his grandmother.
“Sherman’s March to the Sea” will be at 4 p.m. Jan. 9.
The Poison Peach Film Festival is back in its annual January time slot after COVID pushed it from the Imperial Theatre’s winter lineup in 2021.
The two-day film festival highlights short movies as well as feature length ones.
“This is our 14th one,” said Jezibell Anat, a filmmaker and the festival spokesperson.
This year’s lineup starts with a short film showcase from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8. Included in the offerings will be a trailer of Eric Poe’s short “Gracie;” an unnamed film by Michelle Cassidy; “Camp, if you Dare-or-Why y’all killin’ ev’ryone?” by Sherman Gills; “Stamina” by Christopher Forbes; and “Kings of Horror” by Joseph Zuchowski.
At 8 p.m. will be the film “Which Way Witchery,” with the second short film showcase beginning at 9:30 p.m.
The second showcase includes “Wither” by Kenneth Perkins; a short film by Adam Cowart; “The Experiment” by Jezibell Anat; and “Sororité Rouge” by Christine Williams.
Sunday’s schedule is a Civil War double features with both movies from Christopher Forbes.
“Submerged,” which delves into the mystery of the “Hunley,” a Confederate submarine, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9, and ending with “Sherman’s March to the Sea.”
Tickets to the event are $10 plus a $3 restoration fee the Imperial Theatre charges. For tickets, visit www.imperialtheatre.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
