Connecticut documentary to premiere at Mystic Film Festival

Reverence: Reclaiming the Forgotten will make its Connecticut premiere on Sept. 25 at the 2026 Mystic Film Festival in Mystic, with filmmaker John Mills hosting a live Q&A afterward. The 33-minute documentary has already picked up multiple festival honors and spotlights African American history in Connecticut that Mills says has been overlooked.

Why it matters: - Reverence: Reclaiming the Forgotten puts Connecticut’s overlooked African American history in front of a home-state audience after a run of national festival recognition. - The screening adds a live Q&A, giving audiences a chance to hear directly from filmmaker John Mills about the research and preservation work behind the film. - The documentary is part of a broader effort to reconnect descendants with ancestral stories and restore forgotten people to the public record.

What happened: - Reverence: Reclaiming the Forgotten was officially selected for the 2026 Mystic Film Festival. - The Connecticut premiere is set for Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Mystic Luxury Cinemas, 25 Coogan Boulevard in Mystic. - Mills will take part in a live audience question-and-answer session immediately after the screening. - The public is encouraged to attend.

The details: - The 33-minute documentary follows Mills as he uncovers the lives of African Americans whose stories have largely disappeared from Connecticut’s historical narrative. - The film centers on genealogical research, descendant reunions, cemetery restoration projects, historical advocacy and documentary storytelling. - Featured interview voices include Dr. Jesse Nasta of Wesleyan University, Morgan Bengel of Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine, Kevin Johnson of the Connecticut State Library, Nicole Thomas of Connecticut Landmarks, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and descendants Dawn Lathrop-Goode and Michael Lathrop. - The film has earned Official Selection honors from the San Antonio Black International Film Festival, Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, Twin Cities Black Film Festival and Columbia Maryland Film Festival. - Reverence: Reclaiming the Forgotten also received the Bronze Award for Best Editing from the Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles. - The film earned monthly competition selection for Best Documentary Short, Best Editing and Best First-Time Director (Male). - Mills has commissioned historically informed portraits of formerly enslaved individuals, reimagined through genealogical research and facial features of living descendants. - Those portraits are on exhibit at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism, the Museum of Connecticut History, Connecticut’s Old State House and the Slater Memorial Museum. - The exhibits are part of Connecticut’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. - Tickets and festival information are available at Mystic Film Festival. - A direct ticket link to the screening will be available through the Mystic Film Festival website.

Between the lines: - The festival slot turns the film’s historical research into a public-facing event that blends cinema, scholarship and community memory. - Mills’ work extends beyond the documentary and into museums, books, educational initiatives, historical markers and descendant reunions, suggesting a long-term preservation campaign rather than a single film project. - The live Q&A signals the festival sees the film as both a screening and a conversation about how Connecticut remembers its past.

What’s next: - The Mystic Film Festival screening will give the film its Connecticut premiere on Sept. 25. - Festival organizers will post a direct ticket link for the screening on the event website. - Mills is expected to continue using the film, portraits and related projects to expand public awareness of Connecticut’s African American history.

The bottom line: - Reverence: Reclaiming the Forgotten is moving from the national festival circuit to a Connecticut stage, with a premiere designed to spark discussion about who gets remembered in the state’s history.