“Atlanta really is like the main character,” Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told director and executive producer P. Frank Williams explained during a media roundtable at SXSW, where the film not only held its world premiere, but also a reunion party of sorts. The documentary film, now streaming on Hulu, tracks the rise and fall of Freaknik, a week of Spring Break parties that started with HBCUs, but took on a life of its own. “I don't think that Freaknik could’ve happened in any other city. The Black political base that's there, I mean, it has the history from Dr. Martin Luther King to Ralph Abernathy to Maynard Jackson, who was the first African-American mayor in Atlanta. So Atlanta as a cultural base for African-Americans really set the table and set the place for Freaknick.”
(Disney/Frank Micelotta)
Viewers familiar with the lore of Freaknik may be surprised by how humble its beginnings were. “It’s something that is not very commonly known,” showrunner and executive producer Geraldine L. Porras explained. “To know that these kids put something together out of necessity,they couldn't afford to go home for Spring Break, all these other places that had Spring Breaks weren't really catered to Black kids. And so learning that origin story and how it turned into what it was was very surprising for me. And I think it'll be surprising for a lot of the audience to hear and learn about how Freaknik really got started and the original intent behind it.”
“Everybody wanted to talk about Freaknik,” P. Frank Williams smiled about the impressive roster of talking heads in the film, which include 21 Savage, Lil Jon, Killer Mike, Jalen Rose, CeeLo Green, and many more. “A lot of the people came forward to talk about it because it was a source of fun and joy.” Still, the filmmakers set forth a goal to tell the full story, which includes some interviews that were a bit more difficult. “We wanted to make sure that we told a full story. So that's why I think we were able to get a lot of different kinds of people, from politics, from sports, people like that. So it was a full course meal.”
“Freaknik was really built from the community, and so part of that was going back to the community,” Geraldine L. Porras added about how some of the lesser-known participants were found. One of the most difficult interviews is a woman who was sexually assaulted at the event, who opens up about her experience on camera. “We know that it may not be easy for survivors or victims of sexual assault to come forward and share their story. She shared her story back in the ‘90s when this happened, and so we came across that archival [footage]. By way of that, we were able to identify her. [We were] giving her the space to share her story and her experience in whatever capacity she wanted to, but wanted to make sure that we held that space to make her feel safe. Because that was and experience that many women unfortunately had at Freaknik. We're really grateful that she was brave enough to sit down and talk to us and relive that, especially since it happened so long ago.”
(Disney/Frank Micelotta)
Gathering archival footage was also a community effort. “We had to put out the bat signal to make sure that people submitted their footage,” Geraldine revealed. “These tapes were sitting in garages collecting dust and hadn't been seen in decades. So part of it was just letting people know that the movie was in production. And we had folks that reached out to us. JD [Jermaine Dupri, executive producer] and Luke [Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, executive producer] also put a call out there. So the footage started to roll in, and part of that challenge was getting it digitized so that we could even screen and watch it.”
“Freaknik was the original black street festival, P. Frank concluded. “I don't think it could ever be duplicated because it was so organic and spontaneous.” While it wasn’t anywhere near on the same level as the original Freaknik, the filmmakers did get to celebrate their film at SXSW with a music festival hosted by Jermaine Dupri and Uncle Luke, with acts that included Big Boi, Flo Milli, Ying Yang Twins. These interviews were conducted ahead of the event, but both filmmakers shared their excitement for it. “Anytime Luke and Jermaine Dupree are in the same place with Ying Yang Twins, I mean, you might have a booty shaking fest over there,” P. Frank joked. “The vibe in the energy,” Geraldine added about her excitement for the party. “Really capturing the music and that fun. Letting your hair down.”
It’s time to party with the hottest Spring Break celebration ever to take over the streets of Atlanta in Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, now streaming exclusively on Hulu.