Join us for a special event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
A screening of the Emmy-winning 2018 documentary King in the Wilderness
King in the Wilderness is a documentary film about Martin Luther King Jr. focusing on the final two years of his life leading up to his assassination on April 4, 1968.
The film includes some never-before-seen footage of interviews with some of those closest to King interspersed with historical archives during a period of his life. In addition to upsetting both President Lyndon Johnson and the FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, as well as numerous other opposition groups, and despite King’s own self-doubts as he was coming to terms with his possible death, he refused to back away from the civil rights and anti-war challenges of his times.
The film focuses on events in King’s life and the civil rights movement such as the Chicago Freedom Movement, the James Meredith march, the anti-Vietnam War protests and King’s “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech, the 1967 riots, preparation for the Poor People’s Campaign, the Memphis sanitation strike, the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, and King’s assassination and funeral. Among King’s colleagues and friends interviewed in the documentary are Bernard Lafayette, Andrew Young, Diane Nash, Harry Belafonte, John Lewis, Dorothy Cotton, Joan Baez, Xernona Clayton, Jesse Jackson, Mary Lou Finley, Cleveland Sellers, and C. T. Vivian.
Stay after the screening for a chat with one of the film’s Executive Producers, Trey Ellis, hosted by Harold Bailey, Jr. (Westport Playhouse Trustee and TEAM Westport Chair) followed by a brief audience Q&A. Ellis is also the playwright of Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing, which he directed as our September 2024 Script in Hand playreading.
This event is FREE to the public and part of the 19th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in conjunction with The Westport Library, TEAM Westport, and the Westport/Weston Clergy Association.
Learn more bout the film HERE!
meet the speakers
watch the official trailer
What people have said about "King of the Wilderness"
KING IN THE WILDERNESS is an emotional, eye-opening meditation on the last years of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., when his activism expanded to issues of poverty and war, and his voice became increasingly unpopular in the eyes of many Americans."
The New York TimesKING IN THE WILDERNESS takes us behind the scenes in a way that lets us see King as a fully rounded figure, grappling with the pressures of being both an icon and a human being at a time when his beliefs were alienating even his allies."
VarietyIn focusing on King’s most fraught and tumultuous years, KING IN THE WILDERNESS reintroduces us to a more vulnerable and introspective leader than the one we often imagine when we think of the man who gave the 'I Have a Dream' speech."
The Hollywood ReporterIt is an intimate portrayal, one that underscores how deeply King’s evolving thoughts about war, poverty, and peace shaped his last, pivotal years."
The GuardianThank You
2025 Programming & Season Sponsorship is generously provided by Barbara Streicker.
Media Sponsorship for the 2025 season is generously provided by Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio.
All titles, dates, and artists are subject to change.
Includes a post-show chat and audience Q&A with Executive Producer, Trey Ellis, hosted by Harold Bailey, Jr.
Film is rated TV-14
English 
Spanish