The Sedona International Film Festival will partner with the Verde Valley Archaeology Center to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “American Epic: Out of the Many the One” showing Thursday, March 31, at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. The event will feature a special introduction and Q-and-A with the filmmakers Bernard MacMahan and Allison McGourty.
Jack White, T Bone Burnett, and Robert Redford present “American Epic,” a three-part historical documentary and The American Epic Sessions feature-length recording studio film airing on PBS and BBC Arena this fall.
“American Epic” takes us on a journey across time to the birth of modern music, when the musical strands of a diverse nation first combined, sparking a cultural renaissance that forever transformed the future of music and the world. The three-part historical documentary follows the trail of record company talent scouts from the late 1920s as they toured America with a recording machine to capture the raw expression of an emerging culture whose recordings would lead to the development of the blues, country, gospel, Hawaiian, Cajun and folk music.
“American Epic” will air on PBS as two 60-minute episodes and one 90-minute episode.
This special event will feature episode three of the series titled “American Epic: Out of the Many the One.” In this episode, the filmmakers travel deep into the Hopi nation and its music, explore the origins of Hawaiian slack-key guitar, discover the hybrid of cultures in Tejano music and head through bayou country and its Cajun music, ending in Avalon, the delta blues and its innovator, Mississippi John Hurt.
Brits MacMahon and McGourty, and American producer Duke Erikson have pieced together this extraordinary story.
The filmmakers follow the machine’s trail across the United States to rediscover the families whose music was recorded by it, music that would lead to the development of blues, country, gospel, Hawaiian, Cajun and folk music — without which there would be no rock, pop, R&B or hip-hop today. Over three episodes, the remarkable lives of these seminal musicians are revealed through previously unseen film footage, unpublished photographs and exclusive interviews with some of the last living witnesses to that era, when the musical strands of a diverse nation first emerged, sparking a cultural revolution whose reverberations are felt to this day.
The filmmakers have re-assembled the machine that allowed America to first hear itself. They have replicated the atmosphere of America’s seminal 1920s field recordings down to the smallest detail, with top American artists recording straight to wax, using all the original microphones, amplifiers and other equipment from that era. This is the first time that any performer has been able to use this machinery for over 80 years.
Aided and abetted White and Burnett, today’s legends are given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to relive the experience of the founding mothers and fathers, their idols and remake the music that changed America and changed the world.
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. Call 282-1177 for tickets and more information. Both the theatre and Film Festival office are located at 2030 W. SR 89A in West Sedona. Visit the Sedona Film Festival website for more information.
