COLUMBIA, S.C. — You might have heard of Bull Street from your grandparents or parents. That was the name given to the South Carolina State Hospital, also known as the Lunatic Asylum, on the grounds of what is today's BullStreet District in downtown Columbia.
The mental hospital closed in the late 1990s but its history is now coming to the big screen in the new feature film 'Bull Street' that’s getting ready to make its debut in South Carolina.
While 'Bull Street' is filled with love, humor and conflict, for the movie's writer and director Lynn Dow, this story began in 2003 as she grieved the loss of her grandmother who was born and raised in Summerton.
“I found the death certificate of my great-great-grandmother, which is my grandmother's grandmother, grandmother. She died in Bull Street in '58 and so I realized that she started losing land. She lost her land when she was committed," said Dow.
“I could hear her voice telling me to write, 'Lynn write,' and write and that’s what I did. I started writing this movie, the script Bull Street, and I started healing, finding my way through and I was discovering so many amazing things," Dow said. "My grandmother would often say when I'm finished here in the big city, I'm going to go back to South Carolina and sit on the porch with my legs crossed and drink tea. I thought that this movie would be a great way to bring her back home.”
South Carolina State Hospital
The film 'Bull Street' follows LouEster and her grandmother Mrs Big-Gal played by Loretta Devine, as they face eviction from their home in the fictional town of Puckney South Carolina. Characters in the film face struggles of generational trauma, mental illness and a racist power structure.
“With the land lost -- there’s so many families that have lost land for whatever reason, no deeds or it was taken it away -- but we’ve got to find a way to stop that and we address that,” Dow said.
The movie was filmed in 2022 in the town of Summerton, something executive producer Wendy Tucker Tannock says was crucial for the story.
“They opened their homes so we could actually film in there. They would come to give us pointers or we as were trying to adjust to the heat that came out, they were bringing us lemonade. On a rainy day if need be, they would bring rain coats. They were just absolutely amazing,” she said. "The locations that we had, we couldn't have done it without them. For that, I will forever be grateful and our way of giving back is bringing this film to South Carolina first."
Malynda Hale plays LouEster and says she fell in love with her role from the moment she read her script.
“It's very original, something we haven't seen before, which is always something I want to take part of. I want to take part of original stories that need to be told," Hale said. "but also being a part of what I feel is very iconic. To have a black female director and writer, black female executive producer, black female leads, I just think that that's something exciting and as we're moving more into having diverse projects out in the world, I'm very thrilled that I got to be a part of this one.”
Gary Ray Moore plays Mayor Bucky, who is one of the obstacles the family faces in the film. "My character shows the prejudice and what prejudice leads to, and I think that's a great story right there. Finding the end of where prejudice brings you," he said.
Dow says she will be forever grateful for South Carolina.
“We were the little engine that became the big engine and that’s what it means. So much gratitude for what South Carolina has done for me with this film,”
The film will hit the big screen in South Carolina, opening at the Nickelodeon Theater in Columbia on June 5th , directors, producers and cast will be there. Statewide it will premiere on June 7th, you can find the exclusive theaters where 'Bull Street' will be shown in here.