History comes to life with Sultana documentary

History comes to life with Sultana documentary

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Mike Marshall had never heard of the Sultana until he came across a book, Cahaba Prison and the Sultana Disaster by William O. Bryant in the gift shop while visiting Andersonville National Historic Site in the summer of 2001. As he read through sections of the book he was transfixed by the accounts of the Union soldiers who had survived the horrors of one of the Civil War’s most notorious prison camps, only to perish in April 1865 when the overloaded boat exploded while making its way up the Mississippi River.

The story would not leave him.

“One thought kept going through my mind — the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history. Why have I never heard of this?”

Marshall said.

Marshall bought the book and was so taken with the story and the fact that it had been lost to history that he called his brother Mark, a film producer who was in London at the time, and told him that they had to make a documentary about the Sultana.

“My words to him were something along the line of ‘we’ve got to find out if a documentary has ever been produced about the Sultana,’” Marshall said.

“If not, we’ve got to make one.”

After more than a dozen years of working on and off the project and aided by a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign in 2014, “Remember the Sultana” had its initial showing last year during the 150th anniversary of the disaster in Memphis.

The documentary, which includes interviews with Mayor Frank Fogleman and Frank Barton whose ancestors helped rescue survivors, was well received by the many descendants and the general public who were able to view it at a special preview at Malco Theater’s Paradiso.

Now, “Remember the Sultana” will have another sneak preview on Saturday in Marion at the Marion Performing Arts Center as part of the city’s Sultana Heritage Festival.

“We’re looking forward to showing it in Marion,” Marshall said. “I stopped by Marion on my way back from the Sultana descendant’s reunion and saw the performing arts center. It’s gorgeous. I’m looking forward to being there on Saturday.”

Marshall, who has over 20 years of experience in video production, began work on the documentary in early 2002. He and Mark attended a reunion of the Association of Sultana Descendants and Friends in Vicksburg where they interviewed a number of descendants who were active in making the Sultana story known.

The brothers did additional production work over the next several years, including attending another reunion in 2005, but were forced to stop work on the project in 2006 when their funding ran out. The project attracted the attention of actor Sean Astin, who helped Marshall launch a successful fundraising campaign on social media to raise the money to finish the documentary.

Astin has acted in more than 100 movies including “The Goonies” and “The Lord of the Rings” and not only served as co-executive producer on the documentary, but also lent his voice to the narration.

Another Hollywood heavyweight, producer Jim Michaels, also lent his talent to bringing the project to fruition. Michaels credits include serving as producer on “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and the immensely popular CW drama “Supernatural.”

“The documentary wouldn’t have been possible without the support and involvement of our Kickstarter backers, our corporate sponsors (Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company and First Tennessee Bank), an investor, and several donors who gave outside of the social media campaign,” Marshall said.

“They all teamed up with an incredibly talented group of voice actors and technicians led by Sean Astin and Jim Michaels.”

The documentary has not yet had its official premiere, but Marshall said he hopes the people of Marion who come to the Sultana Festival will enjoy it.

“For my brother and me, our reaction to seeing the documentary on “the big screen” was primarily one of gratitude to the Association and to everyone we talked to over the years for allowing us the honor of producing what we hope will be the lasting tribute to those who were touched by the tragedy,” Marshall said. “I project will, I believe, finally allow the story of the Sultana to take its rightful place in our nation’s history.”

By Mark Randall