Film opens in theaters in May 2022
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired a documentary about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s 50th anniversary. A Kennedy/Marshall Company Production in association with Sutter Road Picture Company, Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story will open in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on May 13th before expanding to additional markets in the following weeks.
The film, shot at the 2019 Fest, features local music heroes joined on 14 stages by some of the biggest names in the music industry, and a wealth of archival documentary footage from the past half century. Among the 50 plus featured performers are Jimmy Buffett, Pitbull, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, Aaron Neville, The Marsalis Family, Earth, Wind & Fire, Irma Thomas, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Samantha Fish, Herbie Hancock, Al Green, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mardi Gras Indians, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Tom Jones, Gary Clark, Jr., and many others. JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY not only captures the Festival in all of its beauty and glory, but also delves deep into the rich culture of The Big Easy.
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story weaves together live performances and interviews from the 50th anniversary of The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the signature annual music and cultural event of the city with hundreds of thousands of attendees each year. The N.O. ‘Jazz Fest’ celebrates the music, food, people, arts & crafts, and culture of all of Louisiana since 1970, and is an essential showcase of the rich heritage of the region.
Co-directed by five-time Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern (Finding Oscar), the documentary is produced by Marshall, Suffern and Sean Stuart (The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash), and is executive produced by Quint Davis and Jimmy Buffett. The film made its premiere at SXSW this year.
