Canadian Premiere
Whether he was just a man or, as he claims, an angel sent from Saturn to spread peace and love through his music, Sun Ra was one of the unique visionaries of the 20th century — a creator who turned his life into a work of art. Endlessly reinventing himself, Sun Ra’s innovations as a musician and artist extended beyond his groundbreaking works with electronic instruments and free improvisation to radical ideas about culture and performance. Beginning with his childhood as Herman Poole Blount born 1914 in Alabama, director Christine Turner follows the artist’s trajectory as he transforms from a talented musician into Sun Ra: a pioneer embracing new forms of jazz and Afrofuturism while building a home in the avant-garde. Seamlessly blending archival footage, in-depth interviews with scholars and musicians, live performances, and kaleidoscopic imagery, this documentary explores the legacy of one of the most iconoclastic artists of the modern age.
Presented by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Sun Ra
USA
2025
English
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Stanley Nelson, Marcia Smith, Keith Brown, Michael Kantor, Bradford Smith
Producer
Christine Turner
Cinematography
Othello Banaci
Editor
Steven J. Golliday
Christine Turner
Christine Turner is an Academy Award–nominated documentarian whose intimate portraits of artists, activists, and everyday people capture the beauty and struggles of life. A frequent collaborator with Firelight Films and Firelight Media, Christine recently directed J’Nai Bridges Unamplified (2023) for PBS and Lynching Postcards: ‘Token of a Great Day’ (2021), which was nominated for a Peabody and won an NAACP Image Award. Other directing credits include the Oscar-nominated short The Barber of Little Rock (2023) and Homegoings (2013), her critically acclaimed feature directorial debut.
Filmography: Lynching Postcards: ‘Token of a Great Day’ (2021); The Barber of Little Rock (2023)
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