SONY PICTURES CLASSICS TO RELEASE FRANK MARSHALL & RYAN SUFFERN’S ‘JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY’ IN THEATERS ON MAY 13th

NEW YORK (March 15, 2022) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will release JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY in New York and Los Angeles on May 13, 2022 before expanding to additional markets in the following weeks. Co-directed by five-time Academy Award^® nominee Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern (Finding Oscar), the documentary weaves together live performances and interviews from the 50th anniversary of the iconic festival, featuring some of the biggest names in the music industry, along with a wealth of archival documentary footage from the past half century.

JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY is produced by Marshall, Suffern and Sean Stuart (The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash), executive produced by Quint Davis and Jimmy Buffett, and features artists Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Buffett, Katy Perry, and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, aka “Jazz Fest,” is the signature annual music and cultural event of the city and has been called America’s greatest festival. Celebrating the music, food, arts and crafts of all of Louisiana since 1970, Jazz Fest is an essential showcase of the rich heritage of the region, and hundreds of thousands attend the event each year. Local music heroes are joined on 14 stages by some of the most important figures in entertainment, highlighting the connections between Louisiana culture and the world.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc., is the nonprofit organization that owns the Festival. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell is a co-production of Festival Productions, Inc.-New Orleans and AEG Presents.

Watch the official trailer here. For additional information and assets, visit: 

https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/jazzfest/

ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS   

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992—which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world.  Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 41 Academy Awards^® (37 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 183 Academy Award^® nominations (157 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for THE FATHER, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, AND CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. 

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT  

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.