Frank Marshall has been a producer or director on many big budget Hollywood movies over many decades now including the Jurassic Park franchise and the Jason Bourne franchise to name just two. But he also loves directing smaller documentaries such as “The Bee Gees: How Do You Mend a Broken Heart”, “A Brilliant Curling Story”). “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story” is his latest music documentary project and it’s a great one. It centers on The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, aka Jazz Fest, an annual music and cultural event of the New Orleans and has been called America’s greatest festival. Celebrating the music, food, and 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 film is currently playing theatrically in New York and Los Angeles and will roll out wider in the coming weeks.
Father Jim Martin & filmmaker Evan Mascagni are my guests in the second segment to discuss the documentary “Building a Bridge” which is inspired by the book “Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity (HarperOne, 2017) written by Fr. Martin. The film is currently available on VOD. It will also premiere on AMC+ on June 21st and on SundanceTV on June 26th.
