Iris Indie International to Host Exclusive Screening of Acclaimed SLOANE: A JAZZ SINGER Documentary at Cannes

LOS ANGELES, April 30, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Iris Indie International is excited to announce an exclusive screening of the award-winning documentary Sloane: A Jazz Singer at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The screening will take place on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 2 p.m. in the Riviera 1 screening room at the Palais des Festivals. 

The much-acclaimed film, directed by Michael Lippert, has been awarded Best Documentary at more than a dozen international film festivals and has appeared on several must-see lists, including at Palm Springs International Film Festival in January. 

Sloane: A Jazz Singer follows legendary vocalist Carol Sloane as she prepares for one last live recording in New York at the age of 82 while reflecting on a remarkable but largely unknown career involving everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to The Beatles. Sloane's knockout debut at the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival led to her immediate signing by Columbia Records, which landed her gigs with the most-renowned jazz artists of the era, including Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, and more. She was hailed by late-night luminaries like Johnny Carson, who featured her regularly, and later called "the greatest living jazz singer" by The Washington Post. But with the onset of the British Invasion of the '60s, her star began to dim as quickly as it had burst upon the scene, resulting in personal, emotional and financial struggles that kept her on the edge of insolvency for most of her life. And though she endured miraculously through a six-decade career that won her international acclaim, the public at large still doesn't know her name.

Stephen Barefoot, producer of the documentary, befriended Sloane on his first night working as a young bartender in an underground nightclub in Raleigh, North Carolina in the mid-1970s. Eventually, Sloane would work as Barefoot’s partner in his own jazz club in the early '80s. They remained friends for the rest of her life. When she asked him "Will anyone care about me when I'm gone?" he felt compelled to tell her story, and Sloane: A Jazz Singer became the answer.

In 2019, the film's team captured her triumphant final live-album recording at Manhattan's iconic Birdland, amid cheers, tears and ovations. Sloane suffered a stroke in spring of the next year, was confined to a nursing facility, and passed away exactly 30 days prior to the world premiere of this film. Tributes poured in from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post.

The film has been hailed not only as a tribute to artistic perseverance, but as an homage to the legacy of jazz itself. Michael Feinstein, one of the leading authorities on The Great American Songbook, has called the film "a superior musical tour de force and virtual shot in the arm, documenting not only Carol’s career through her emotional story, but also brilliantly encapsulating a history of popular music through changing times and passing fancies."

Barefoot will be in attendance to kick off the Cannes screening with a brief personal look into the remarkable woman audiences will meet onscreen: a tenacious, strong-willed, well-humored fighter who never gave up, who influenced and inspired numbers of younger singers behind her, and whose live and recorded performances deserve to live on for generations to come. 

Following the screening, as the sun sets over Cannes, Iris Indie International will host an intimate gathering to celebrate the life and artistry of Carol Sloane. This tribute will be a unique opportunity to honor her legacy in the presence of those who appreciate the depth and beauty of jazz, the power of story, and the impact of passion and art.

Fellow executive producer J. Taylor Arnold, alongside executive producers Stephen Barefoot and Michael Lippert, expressed excitement and anticipation about the collaboration with Iris Indie International for this significant screening at Cannes, marking the company’s inaugural presence at the market.

"Our collaboration with Iris Indie International for Cannes marks a milestone for us,” Arnold stated, continuing, "It’s thrilling to introduce Sloane: A Jazz Singer at such a prestigious venue, and we are delighted about the opportunities this partnership will bring. Working with Iris Indie International has opened new avenues for us to share Carol’s extraordinary story with a wider, international audience. This partnership not only highlights the film’s success but also sets the stage for its global impact."

Milena Rimassa, President of Distribution at Iris Indie International, expressed her enthusiasm for the event, stating, "We are delighted to showcase this touching documentary at Cannes, a film that has already touched many hearts across various festivals globally, and screenings at prestigious settings including multiple sold-out showings at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. This celebration is not only a tribute to Carol Sloane's remarkable career but also a testament to the timeless influence of jazz."

For anyone wishing to attend the screening or the sunset ceremony, please contact Milena Rimassa at [email protected]. For more information on the film, please visit sloanefilm.com. 

Source: Iris Indie International