Lexington film project to premiere movie inspired by, set in East End
A community-driven film project will debut a movie highlighting the East End of Lexington at the Kentucky Theatre July 31.
“Everything In Its Place,” directed by Kentucky native Maya Brown, is a dedication to Lexington’s East End, depicting its culture, memorial and historical legacy. The movie is part of the Roots & Reels film project, a community group focused on bringing Lexington artists together to craft original films inspired by the real stories of Black residents in the first district.
“Through a five-week storytelling workshop, participants explored intergenerational storytelling methods, reflected on their ties to place and collaborated to shape a fictional script grounded in shared community experiences and local Black identity,” a press release said.
Jamari Turner, Roots & Reels’ program director, said the project started out as part of her thesis during her master’s degree program at the University of Kentucky, to increase Black representation on the screens of Lexington.
The primary set location was in the house of a community member who donated the space for most scenes, Turner said. The film’s production started as a five-week storytelling workshop where community members from the first district were invited to learn different storytelling methods, sharing their own stories of belonging and identity.
“All of those stories were used to sort of inform the script of ‘Everything in Its Place,’” Turner said.
The film draws a narrative of grief, following the story of a Chicago artist, Amarr Coleman (played by Emannuel Thurman), who relocates to Lexington after his grandmother, Linda Coleman (played by Claudia Love Mair) passed.
Adapting to a new community and a cycle of emotions driven by grief, the movie depicts Coleman’s journey in finding himself in a community he learns to call home again.
Turner said the majority of the film crew was raised and grew up in the first district, which gave authenticity to the community stories told.
“We had a storytelling workshop where we had participants bring in significant items and those items are sprinkled throughout the script,” Turner said.
The premiere is a free event but requires ticket reservations, and includes a red carpet.
The event opens at 7 p.m. and the screening starts at 7:45 p.m. Afterward, a panel and community reception will be hosted by the director, actors, writers and producers.
“People can expect to hopefully see some of themselves in the movie or just have an experience that really reflects the history, and beauty and complexity of life in Lexington, especially for lifelong Lexingtonians,” Turner said.
This story was originally published July 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
