The story of Emmett Till continues to stir emotions in our collective hearts and minds nearly 70 years after his 1955 murder in Mississippi. Chinonye Chukwu’s acclaimed film “Till,” now in theaters, follows the inspiring plight of Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till (played by Danielle Deadwyler) to advocate, educate, and call attention to the vicious hate that led to the violent death of his son when he was 14 years old. ancient.
At the recent in-person screening of The Wrap’s “Till,” the emotional experience of making the film resonated deeply with the department heads present for the post-screening Q&A. During a conversation moderated by The Wrap’s Elija Gil, onstage participants included the film’s production designer Curt Beech, makeup department head Denise Tunnell, hair department head Deaundra Metzger, composer Abel Korzeniowski and cinematographer Bobby Bukowski.
In a particularly moving exchange, Tunnell choked as she described how, as a makeup expert, she was asked if she could help Bukowski, the cameraman and cinematographer, after he began to cry.
“The first (assistant director) asked me to give Bobby a handkerchief,” Tunnell said, her voice beginning to crack. “Bobby was in the corner with his face in his hands, crying. And for me that was, that was the most difficult day for me. Because I know the heart (of Bukowski) and I know that he is a kind person. And to see a grown man cry on set, he had never experienced anything like it. It’s still hard now.”
Bukowski got up from his seat to hug Tunnell after she had spoken. Moments earlier, the cinematographer explained: “Unless you’re impenetrable, (the ‘Till’ story) obviously affects you. It was very difficult emotionally. There were times when I was behind the camera and after a take I had to walk away. On that day, maybe I felt a hopelessness. Here I am, a 70-year-old man, and it’s still (the same) story. That is what affected me: sixty years of my life and I have been seeing horrible things.
Metzger, the head of the hair department, also addressed the feeling of grief and camaraderie that was present during the making of the film.
“I thought it would be Bobby that would make me cry, I had no idea it would be you,” Metzger said, pointing to her makeup colleague Tunnell. “Throughout the entire filming process, I couldn’t look at Bobby. He’s always touched me because he wears his heart on his sleeve and that’s why we love him.”
Metzger added that the team remained steadfast in their determination to give the film their all. There was an extreme amount of pressure because we had Emmett Till’s family on set. They were supporting actors and were heavily involved in the film. So you had the heaviness of the subject, you had a pandemic going on, where we were all nervous. So we had to come up with creative ways to make it work.”
See the full interview here.