In an interview with Digital Trends, co-directors Ira Mckinley and Bhawin Suchak discuss Pahokee, Florida, the subject of their new documentary, Outta the Muck.
The city of Pahokee, Florida, is perhaps best known for its high school football team. With less than 6,000 residents, the rural city has produced numerous football players who went on to play in the NFL, including Anquan Boldin Sr., Janoris Jenkins, and Rickey Jackson. Pahokee is known as “the Muck” because of the nutrient-rich soil on the shores of Lake Okeechobee. And while football may draw the headlines, Pahokee is a city with a long track record of triumph, tradition, and tragedy.
We worked on a film called The Throwaways that we released in 2014. Then Ira had this idea that he wanted to really pursue another film about his family’s history. I was at first reluctant because it just takes so much work. I was feeling really overwhelmed and tired. I didn’t want to make another feature doc, to be honest with you [laughs], but I was convinced because Ira had a really incredible story.
We went there in 2015, and we saw the excitement. Then the next year, when we were in production, which was 2016, they [the Pahokee football team] were undefeated. We couldn’t get a better script than what we’re trying to do. The high school football players went undefeated. They won a state championship. We were there through the whole thing, just trying to raise money to go back and forth, back and forth, you know.
As a matter of fact, in some ways, I think the biggest misconception is people don’t understand how tight and connected the community is and how people really look out for each other. I think what happens is when you have a lack of resources, and the structures of the county government and the state government have basically left you without resources, you learn how to build them yourselves. You learn how to become self-determined.
It made me want to reconnect with my own history and my family in a way that was really deeper and more involved and extensive than I ever thought before. I hope it sparks that for people that see the film. That they need to really stay connected with their own family history. Also, to not underestimate towns like Pahokee. People count them out and only care about football, but there’s more to that town than just football.
You see what’s happening now with [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis trying to kill education. This is a story of what has been happening for centuries there. You wonder why they want to kill the education. Then you understand that it’s a slave-type mentality. The sugar mills use these people and don’t give them the best wages, but they give them enough wages that they’re better off than the rest of the population.
Then they came with this busload of people, with this entourage and the state troopers. Me and Bhawin were filming them. I don’t think this is in the scene, but we were freaking out like, “Yo, look at them.” It took them four hours to play the game because everybody started cramping up. This was in September in Florida. They didn’t know that this weather and heat would take a toll on you. The kids trained in this every day. They trained in this type of heat and everything every day.
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