‘Glendora’ Teaser Trailer – First Look at Isabelle Armand’s Intimate Portrait of African-American Community in Mississippi Delta

Here is the first look – teaser trailer for Glendora, a documentary film profile of the village of Glendora, a vibrant, closely connected African-American community in the heart of the Mississippi Delta.

Directed by Isabelle Armand making her feature documentary directorial debut, and in collaboration with Glendora Collaborative, Glendora will world premiere at Dances With Films: NY.

Glendora is the result of five years of close collaboration between the filmmaker and townspeople. The film weaves personal testimonies with daily rituals—birthdays, graduations, weddings, funerals— capturing the rhythm of a town that continuously rises above its circumstances.

More than a place, Glendora reflects a larger American history shaped by racial injustice, economic neglect, and structural inequality. The film underscores the community’s efforts to stay connected and shape its future amid ongoing challenges.

Glendora is a film made with—and by—the people who live there. It amplifies voices too often unheard, offering a powerful story of culture, resilience, creativity, and collective memory from a town long overlooked—but not easily forgotten.

Isabelle Armand is a New York–based documentary photographer and filmmaker whose practice brings together photography, film, and oral history to examine the layered experiences of individuals and communities whose stories and futures have been historically overlooked.

“My work is rooted in long – term, immersive collaboration. I first traveled to Mississippi in 2013, initially to collaborate with the Innocence Project on a photography book centered around the wrongful convictions of Levon Brooks and Kennedy Brewer. Over five years, I documented, and shared in the lives of the two exonerees and their families — work that profoundly impacted me; it opened a window into a layered reality and the complex issues and histories of communities that are often overlooked in mainstream narratives . This project deepened my commitment to long – term, community – based storytelling and led me to Glendora, a small village in the Mississippi Delta. With a population of just 160, the town’s isolation seemed to amplify the systemic challenges I had first encountered while working on Levon and Kennedy . I began filming there in 2019 and was based primarily there from 2020 to 2024. Over time, I was welcomed into everyday moments — birthdays, graduations, weddings, funerals. The resulting film — created with and for the community — is a shared portrait shaped entirely by local voices. From rap videos to family traditions, young people to elders, the Glendora Collaborative represents a powerful, grassroots narrative told on their own terms. The film is now being presented by the very people who brought it to life.” said director Isabelle Armand.

Watch the first look teaser trailer for Glendora above.