Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort South Carolina, May 1940 is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel

Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort South Carolina, May 1940 (1940)DocumentaryRating 45/100

This footage, shot by author Zora Neale Hurston in the Sea Island community of Beaufort, South Carolina, observes the religious practices of the Gullah people. The footage is accompanied here by field audio recordings by Norman Chalfin, who wrote of the endeavor, "There was no electric power . . . Illumination was from kerosene lamps." Because there was no electricity, they could not effectively synchronize sound and image. In 2006, the footage was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

Cast: Zora Neale Hurston, Reverend George Washington, Izora Robinson, Hugh Washington, May Belle Washington, Carrie Belle Washington, Hattie Mae Washington

Director: Zora Neale Hurston