A major documentary about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is on its way to movie theatres.
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story is co-directed by Emmy nominee Ryan Suffern and five-time Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall, according to Deadline.com.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the film’s global rights, according to Deadline’s report. The feature-length documentary includes performance footage and interviews captured during the festival’s 50th anniversary edition in 2019, along with archival footage from throughout Jazz Fest’s history.
The film is produced by Marshall, Suffern and Sean Stuart, along with Buffett and Quint Davis as executive producers.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Sony Pictures Classics to bring Jazz Fest to the big screen,” said Marshall, according to Deadline. “With everything we’ve gone through this past year, our hope is that this documentary, celebrating one of the greatest music festivals in the world, will bring some much-needed joy and happiness to audiences everywhere.”
Throughout his career, Marshall has built up a long list of Hollywood projects and accolades. He received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy in 2019, and he has been nominated for five Oscars for best picture for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Seabiscuit, The Sixth Sense, The Color Purple and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Most recently, he directed the HBO documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart — a collaboration with his Jazz Fest partner Suffern — and is producing upcoming instalments in the Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones franchises.
There’s no word yet on a release date for Jazz Fest.