Fort Worthian Channing Godfrey-Peoples grew up celebrating Juneteenth with her family, taking in the cultural significance of the holiday's traditions and reserving special attention to the Miss Juneteenth pageants. In her debut film, Miss Juneteenth, Godfrey-Peoples' honors those early impressions by imagining the lives of a former winner and a reluctant contestant. The film tells the story of Turquoise Jones (played with flawless subtlety by Nicole Beharie), a former pageant winner who struggles to make a living and whose dream is to pass on the crown to her teenage daughter, who's uninterested in pursuing the title. The film unfolds slowly, dragging the viewer into a visual folk song sizzling with the subtext of the hardships of motherhood and poverty and the bitter aftertaste of missed opportunities. It's ultimately optimistic in its metaphorical message of seeking out hope for a better future. Miss Juneteenth was fittingly released on June 19 at the peak of this year's civil rights protests. Its timing couldn't have been better.