Shadrach is a 1998 American film directed by Susanna Styron, based on a short story by her father William Styron, about a former slave's struggle to be buried where he chooses. Before the Civil War, the Dabney family of Virginia sold their slave, Shadrach , to plantation owners in Alabama, separating him from his family. In 1935, during the Great Depression, Shadrach—at the age of 99—walks the 600 miles from his home in Alabama to the Dabney farm in Virginia. His one request is to be buried in the soil of the farm where he was born into slavery. The farm is owned by the... descendants of the Dabney family, consisting of Vernon , Trixie and their seven children. But to bury a black man on that land is a violation of strict Virginia law, so the family goes through the arduous task of figuring out how to grant his request. Along the way they form a touching bond with the former slave and sharecropper, who has outlived both his former wives and some 35 children. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a mixed review, writing, "Shadrach is a well-meaning film, directed by Susanna Styron from her father's autobiographical story.
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| Release date: | September 23, 1998 |
| Directed by: | Susanna Styron |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 89 Minutes |
| Producer: | John Thompson, Boaz Davidson, Bridget Terry, Jonathan Demme, Frank Ross |
| Editor: | Colleen Sharp |
| Music by: | Van Dyke Parks |
| Cinematography: | Hiro Narita, John Hora |
| Screenplay by: | Susanna Styron, Bridget Terry |