Like no other city, New Orleans is the place where European influences mix with Afro-Caribbean traditions – and it stands as the true birthplace of American music. From blues to soul to jazz, this documentary explores the music that makes this city so exciting. We encounter soul queen Irma Thomas, Benny Jones Sr. with his brass band, bluesman Little Freddie King and Ellis Marsalis Jr., the patriarch of modern-day jazz’s first family.

“The film celebrates not just the music and the city that gave it rise but the continued value of live performance serving as a vehicle for communal engagement, something we have all learned both during its absence amid the pandemic and since it has waned.” (https://screencomment.com)

Ben Chace, who grew up in Providence/USA, works as a filmmaker and musician. He lives in Paris with his wife and two children. He won the jury prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2010 with his feature film WAH DO DEM. His SIN ALAS, completed in 2015, was at the time the first US feature-length film production to be shot in Cuba since 1959. The Hollywood Reporter reviewer called SIN ALAS a “hauntingly poetic cinematic experience”.

Filmography (selection): 2009 LA MITAD, 2010 WAH DO DEM, 2012 A WIFE ALONE, 2015 SIN ALAS, 2022 MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS