Avalon, Mississippi
birth and final resting place of John Hurt
battleground over the legacy of the Blues
one kind favor is a feature documentary in production now
Mary Frances Hurt knew immediately that the burning of the Mississippi John Hurt Museum was no accident.
In a county and state plagued by 300 years of racial violence, she chooses to rebuild from the ashes and fight for a better future in the Delta.
Well, it's one kind favor I ask of you
Well, it's one kind favor I ask of you
Lord, it's one kind favor I'll ask of you
See that my grave is kept clean
Blind Lemon Jefferson (1928)
Fiscally sponsored by the
“If this was meant to deter me, you failed. As a matter of fact, it motivated me.”
— Mary Frances Hurt
Our Story
Left to right: Joe, Tyler DeWyane, De, Timo
We began on this journey in the early summer of 2021, when Tyler DeWayne Moore invited Joe (Director) and Timo (Sound, Producer) on a survey of Mount Zion Memorial Sites. After seeing the destruction and hardships many forgotten graves in Mississippi have gone through, we knew that we needed to do something to help. As filmmakers, the answer as to what we would do was obvious. Another trip in 2023 furthered our research and knowledge of the area, but it was the early 2024 burning of the John Hurt Museum that catalyzed our determination to make One Kind Favor a reality.
We needed to bring on additional help for our 2024 shoot, and in bringing on De Randle as our Director of Photography, we found an ideal collaborator. De brings his expert eye in telling stories of social justice and depicting black life in the south. What we found in the week surrounding the John Hurt Memorial Festival, was not only an extremely inspiring and determined woman, but an entire community dedicated to upholding and preserving the legacy of all Blues traditions.
Then vs. now