A documentary short set in Daphne, Alabama, Jubilee describes a rare natural event that only occurs on Alabama’s Mobile Bay, on the Gulf of Mexico. We’re introduced to some of the people who live along the bay. For them, a Jubilee is part of their vanishing culture.
Watching for the Jubilee
In the bay, a complex combination of weather and tides can cause the water’s oxygen levels to drop suddenly. When this happens, sea life congregates on shore and in the shallows. Shrimp, crab, eels, and flounders practically throw themselves on waiting nets and spears.
For many long-time residents, predicting, preparing, and watching for a Jubilee is an important part of their lives. We soon meet Miss Stephanie, a mentor to many of the younger residents who’ve discovered a love of Jubilee-watching.
When she was young, she says, the Jubilees were more frequent and more intense. We see faded photographs of dozens of flounders hung up, and of masses of crabs emerging from the water.
Mildred, her elderly mother, recalls how the entire community was mobilized at the call of “Jubilee.” It was the neighborhood children who patrolled the beach most diligently, eagerly watching for signs…