Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American drama-thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo . It was loosely based on the FBI investigation into the real-life murders of three civil rights workers in the U.S. state of Mississippi in 1964. The film focuses on two fictional FBI agents (portrayed by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe ) who investigate the murders. Hackman's character (Agent Rupert Anderson) and Dafoe's character (Agent Alan Ward) are loosely based on the partnership of FBI agent John Proctor and agent Joseph Sullivan . It was filmed in a number of locations in central Mississippi and at one location in Alabama (town square scenes). THE BACKGROUND Murder is what it all boiled down to. In the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, three civil rights workers were viciously slaughtered in Neshoba County, Mississippi. Mississippi Burning is a 1988 crime drama film depicting the events of the heinous crime. In