Firelight Films’ Sun Ra documentary reveals jazz pioneer Sun Ra’s experience as a Black man growing up in Jim Crow America, the musical and philosophical currents that shaped him, and how, more than 30 years after his death, his ideas, music, and performances continue to inspire.

Herman Poole Blount was born on May 22, 1914, in Birmingham, Alabama, and departed this earth on May 30, 1993, as Sun Ra. Along the way, he became a conscientious objector, legally changed his name to Le Sony’r Ra, forged a vision of a Black Space Age future, created a big band that toured the world and continues to do so to this day, wrote over 1,000 jazz compositions, issued more than 125 self-produced records, pioneered the use of electronic keyboards, and published volumes of broadsheets and poetry.

Sun Ra reached back in time to ancient Egypt to claim civilization as Black and fused it with the dawn of the Space Age to assert Blackness as the very nature of the “omniverse.” Compelling and strange, he claimed to have been “teleported” to Saturn, where he was told that the world would descend into chaos and that he must speak through music. Though his “Earth departure day” may have occurred more than three decades ago, his influence continues to grow with each successive generation.

Regional Premiere and Texas Premiere.

PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL PASSES

Purchase a PAFF pass for tickets to all six PAFF screenings, taking place Thursday, July 31–Saturday, August 2, and receive 25% off the full ticket purchase price. AFS Members receive additional discounts on passes and individual tickets. The PAFF pass includes one ticket to each film screening and the opening night reception.

This project is supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department and a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.