“Macky” Alston, the maker of this film is not a professional genealogist, nor, to my knowledge, did he have any real interest in genealogy before creating this film. Yet “Family Name” should be viewed by anyone with roots in the south, any one descended from both slaves and slaveowners.
The concept behind the film, as Macky explains it, came to him as he wondered why so many of the people he met bearing the name “Alston” in his native Pittsboro, North Carolina, were black. He is white. The exploration of this phenomenon led him on a path of discovery of the relationships between blacks and whites in the south – both figurative and literal.In “Family Names,” Macky tours the history of Pittsboro, specifically the Alston family from whom he is descended. Macky meets with Alstons, black and white, from around the Pittsboro area, and visits the old homesteads and churches. Some of the old cemeteries have been grown over, and some of those he interviews have forgotten where people were buried.
His lack of genealogical experience shines through at parts, but Macky doesn’t give up. After tracing several “dead end” lines, he finally focuses on the Rev. Primus P. Alston, a late-nineteenth century minister, whom he discovers served one of the nephews of his own ancestor. However, he makes the jump that Primus was the illegitimate son of his master, with no evidence to the fact, other than the lighter skin of Primus and his descendants. The possibility that this is fact may be strong, but still, this sort of assumption should be avoided by all genealogists.
There are other times when Macky seems awkward discussing the very subject of the film. Even one of his interviewees is visibly taken aback by his questioning about her feelings toward him specifically. There were other times when he wisely allowed another researcher to broach subjects about which he admittedly felt uncomfortable.
Despite these few flaws, however, this film certainly deserved the awards it has won, including the 1997 Sundance Film Festival Freedom of Expression Award, The Bermuda Film Festival Grand Jury Award, and the Gotham Award for the Best Debut Feature Film by a New York Director. This is a very good film, addressing very serious issues, and should certainly be viewed by those all with an interest in African-American genealogy.
For more information, see: http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov1998/familyname/index.html
To purchase Family Name on DVD from Amazon: Family Name
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