Moving Midway

Godfrey Cheshire is an American film critic who had helped found Raleigh's Spectator Magazine and written for various publications such as The New York Times and more. In early 2004, he learns that his cousin Charlie wants to move the buildings of Midway Plantation. The documentary features interviews with many of the family members, who worry that moving the buildings would destroy Midway. Cheshire learns about the African-American branch of Midway, and reaches out to a NYU professor, Dr. Robert Hinton, who shows him a new perspective on the Midway.

The film features excerpts from Gone with the Wind, The Birth of a Nation, The Littlest Rebel, Jezebel, Song of the South, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Roots, among others. Blues songs were performed by Algia Mae Hinton.

The film received very positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 100% approval rating, based on 25 reviews. The critics consensus reads, "This strange, heartfelt documentary from film critic Godfrey Cheshire is a fascinating examination of his family roots, as well as an evocative meditation on the complexities of the South."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, claiming that "it starts in one direction and discovers a better one. Cheshire is a dry, almost dispassionate narrator, and that is good; preaching about his discoveries would sound wrong." LA Weekly named it the 9th best film of 2008 along with The Order of Myths. Andrew Sarris of New York Observer named it the 2nd best non-fiction film of the year.