Actors Delroy Lindo & Wunmi Mosaku on "Sinners"

Video Description

Post-screening conversation with actors Delroy Lindo & Wunmi Mosaku. Moderated by Jacqueline Coley, journalist and awards editor at Rotten Tomatoes. The horror film has never been as accepted as a mainstream storytelling genre, or a more powerful mirror of troubled times, as it is today. Rooted in the intertwined histories of Black cultural achievement and racism in America, "Sinners" is destined to be regarded as a landmark of the genre. Twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan, in a remarkable double performance), back from the trenches of WWI, use money stolen from the Chicago mob to purchase a sawmill and open an exclusive juke joint for a Black community in Mississippi. The irresistible energy of the music and dance emanating from within draws a coven of immigrant Irish vampires to the crowded club doors; at first they modestly request entry as fellow entertainers, but soon they are picking off locals before mounting a ferocious, climactic assault. Coogler uses vampirism as a metaphor for the complex history of racial “passing” and assimilation in America is profoundly affecting, as is the film’s inclusion of marginalized Chinese and Native American characters in the film’s horrific—and historically accurate—portrayal of the nation’s culture of prejudice. Not since the late Indigenous Canadian filmmaker Jeff Barnaby used horror to recall the history of abuse suffered by First Nations peoples in "Rhymes for Young Ghouls" (2013) and "Blood Quantum" (2019) has a director so provocatively employed the genre to lay bare the monstrous political realities of his place and time. "Sinners" may be set in 1932, but it calls for serious reflection in 2025. 2025. USA. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler. With Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Andrene Ward-Hammond, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo. DCP. Courtesy Warner Brothers. 137 min. --- MoMA Contenders is the The Museum of Modern Art’s renowned series of influential, innovative films from the past 12 months. Whether bound for awards glory or cult classic status, each of these films is a contender for lasting historical significance. MoMA Contenders 2025 is organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. This film program is organized by Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, Sean Egan, Senior Producer, Film Exhibitions and Projects, and Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Hammer Museum's presentation is made possible by The Billy and Audrey L. Wilder Foundation. Subscribe to the Hammer Museum's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjcgouIXgFyxJgAPbVE6dlg?sub_confirmation=1