Oscar Buzz Presents: Keep On Keepin' On

(Oscar nominated and shortlisted documentaries.)

Al Hicks, 2014, 84 min

Shot over the course of five years by first time filmmaker Al Hicks, Keep on Keepin' On depicts a 23-­year­-old, blind piano prodigy, Justin Kauflin, and music legend and teacher Clark Terry, 89. After a life spent working with and teaching the most totemic figures in jazz history, Terry continues to attract and cultivate budding talents. Keep on Keepin' On highlights Terry’s friendship with the preternaturally gifted Justin Kauflin, who suffers from debilitating stage fright. Not long after Kauflin is invited to compete in an elite Jazz competition, Terry’s health takes a turn for the worse. As the clock ticks, we see two friends confront the toughest challenges of their lives. Terry, now 93, was Quincy Jones’ first teacher, and mentor to Miles Davis. He is among the few performers ever to have played in both Count Basie’s and Duke Ellington’s bands. In the ‘60s Terry broke the color barrier as the first African-American staff musician at NBC – on The Tonight Show.

Kauflin’s work on the film’s score with composer Dave Grusin sets the tone for a story covering decades. Keep on Keepin' On is a film crafted with great affection by Hicks – another former student of Terry’s –  a grace note for his teacher, infused with soulfulness and serendipity. Paula DuPre’ Pesmen (behind the Academy Award winning The Cove and the Oscar nominated Chasing Ice) produced the film with seven time Academy Award nominee Quincy Jones who also counts Terry as his mentor. Jones came on board as producer after walking into the film as one of its subjects, discovering Justin’s talent purely by chance during a visit at Clark’s home. Shortlisted for the 2015 Best Documentary Feature Academy Award.

Skype Q&A with director Al Hicks and producer Paula DuPre' Pesmen.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjR74w_GFWE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1532499720349539/

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1257359

Oscar Buzz Presents: Art and Craft

Oscar Buzz Presents: Art and Craft

(Oscar nominated and shortlisted documentaries.)

Sam Cullman, Mark Becker, Jennifer Grausman, 2014, 90 min

Mark Landis has been called one of the most prolific art forgers in US history. His impressive body of work spans thirty years, covering a wide range of painting styles and periods that includes 15th Century Icons, Picasso, and even Walt Disney. And while the copies could fetch impressive sums on the open market, Landis isn’t in it for money. Posing as a philanthropic donor, a grieving executor of a family member’s will, and most recently as a Jesuit priest, Landis has given away hundreds of works over the years to a staggering list of institutions across the United States. But after duping Matthew Leininger, a tenacious registrar who ultimately discovers the decades-long ruse and sets out to expose his philanthropic escapades to the art world, Landis must confront his own legacy and a chorus of museum professionals clamoring for him to stop. Art and Craft starts out as a cat-and-mouse art caper, rooted in questions of authorship and authenticity—but what emerges is an intimate story of obsession and the universal need for community, appreciation, and purpose. Shortlisted for the 2015 Best Documentary Feature Academy Award.

Q&A with directors Sam Cullman, Mark Becker, and Jennifer Grausman in person, and subject Mark Landis via Skype.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gseZBhZqvb0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/588072824661136/

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1257320