EXCLUSIVE: From outward appearances, neighbors got along in Victoria, Texas – Muslim, Christian and nonbelievers alike living harmoniously in a community not far from the Gulf coast. Until the night of January 28, 2017. That’s when the local mosque went up in flames in what was later determined to be an act of arson.
A Town Called Victoria, a three-part documentary series premiering on PBS stations and VOD platforms next month, explores the disturbing incident in Victoria, the viral response to the mosque burning and the fissures opened by what authorities called a hate crime. We have your first look at the series in the trailer above.
“A Texas town is thrown into the national spotlight when the local mosque erupts in flames,” notes a synopsis of the series. “After decades of harmony, the small Muslim community of Victoria watches their cherished place of worship reduced to ash. With the fire ruled an arson and a local man arrested as the suspect, this small South Texas town must confront its own troubled history and its consequences in the present. From the trial of the suspect to the rebuilding of the mosque, A Town Called Victoria presents a nuanced portrait of a community confronting hate in its own midst, and grappling with deep-seated racial, religious, political, and economic rifts to find a collective way forward.”
Director Li Lu
PBS/Reel South/Independent Lens
Filmmaker Li Lu, who grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, directed the series. Episodes 1 and 2 drop debut November 13 on PBS stations, the PBS app, PBS YouTube channel, plus streaming on Amazon, iTunes and other VOD services. Episode 3 debuts the next day — Nov. 14. PBS Passport members (donors to local PBS stations who get special preview access to content) can view the series right now.
A Town Called Victoria held its world premiere Sunday, Oct. 8 at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas. “After a mosque is burned to the ground in a small Texas town, residents rally to support the local Muslim community,” the Hot Springs festival wrote in its program. “But is this an inspiring news story or something far more nuanced and complicated? This intricately woven, fascinating 3-part docuseries tells the full story.”
Community members gather in ‘A Town Called Victoria’
PBS/Reel South/Independent Lens
A Town Called Victoria is a “Reel South and Independent Lens Original Series, In Association with the Center for Asian American Media. A Time and Place and Film Exchange Production.” Li Lu directs; the series is produced by Anthony Pedone and Li Lu. Margaret Ebrahim is the executive in charge for PBS. Directors of Photography are Halyna Hutchins (episode 1) and Jason Gamble Harter (episodes 2 and 3); the editors are Mike Saenz, Marie Richardson, and Yasu Inoue. Fahd Ahmed is the story editor; original music is composed by Jimmy LaValle.
Watch the trailer for A Town Called Victoria above.
