Press & broadcasting / Film & TV
Elvis Mitchell
born 1958 · film critic, radio host, filmmaker
Highland Park-born film critic, Wayne State graduate and former Detroit Free Press critic who became a New York Times critic and host of public radio's The Treatment.
- Born
Highland Park, Michigan
age 67- Detroit years
- 1958–1980s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Mitchell was born in Highland Park, the city enclosed by Detroit, and grew up in the metro area in a family that loved movies. He majored in English at Wayne State University, graduating in 1980, and began his career as a film critic, writing for the Detroit Free Press among other papers. He went on to the LA Weekly and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, became a film critic for The New York Times, and since the 1990s has hosted The Treatment, KCRW's long-running interview program with filmmakers. He has also curated film programs for LACMA and taught at Harvard, and his documentary Is That Black Enough for You?!? (2022) examines Black cinema of the 1970s that shaped his Detroit youth.
Highlights
- Film critic for The New York Times
- Host of KCRW's The Treatment
- Director of the documentary Is That Black Enough for You?!? (2022)
- Former film critic for the Detroit Free Press
- Wayne State University graduate (1980)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · late 1970s–1980
Wayne State University
He majored in English here, graduating in 1980.