The Film ‘Ashes to Ashes’

ASHES TO ASHES is a collaboration many years in the making - produced by Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker (also a character in the film), directed by Taylor Rees, and shot by Renan Ozturk.

ASHES TO ASHES tells the story of avid Star Wars fan and master leatherwork artist, Winfred Rembert, who survived an attempted lynching in 1967.  The film also brings to light the extraordinary friendship between Winfred and Dr. Shirley, while she is on a mission to memorialize the forgotten 4,000 African Americans lynched during the Jim Crow era through a special home-going ceremony. 

Dr. Shirley is a neighbor of Taylor’s who she grew up next to in Massachusetts. In 2015, Shirley asked for help documenting her memorial and together over a few years they visited with and listened to the personal and lived experiences of Winfred. The film evolved over time into an homage to both Shirley and Winfred and their work using art to address racial injustices in America.