Award-winning documentary premieres at Mary D. Fisher Theatre
Sedona AZ (August 18, 2016) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present a special premiere of the award-winning new documentary “Miss Sharon Jones!” — hailed the modern-day female James Brown — showing one day only: Thursday, Sept. 1 at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Two-time Academy Award-winner Barbara Kopple (“Harlan County USA”, “Shut Up And Sing”) follows Grammy-nominated R&B dynamo Sharon Jones during the most courageous year of her life.
Often compared to the legendary James Brown because of her powerful and energetic performances, Sharon Jones is no stranger to challenge. For years her music career struggled as she was kept in the wings by a music industry that branded her “too short, too black, too fat.”
After decades of working odd jobs, from a corrections officer to a wedding singer, Sharon had a middle-aged breakthrough after joining forces with Brooklyn R&B outfit The Dap Kings. In 2013, on the eve of the release of the much-anticipated album “Give The People What They Want” and her most important tour, Sharon was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
Follow this tour-de-force over the course of an eventful year as she struggles to hold her band The Dap Kings together while battling her diagnosis with an unstoppable determination to come out triumphantly as a true soul survivor.
“Miss Sharon Jones!” is a triumphant crowd-pleaser that captures an irrepressible human spirit as she battles back to where she belongs; center stage.
“Soul-bearing and beautiful!” — Peter Debruge from Variety
“When Sharon Jones bounds onstage with a holler and a howl, it’s clear she deserves that exclamation point in the title of this documentary!” — Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
“Jones’s fans are already hip to her dynamic live shows, but Kopple’s film — which explores but never exploits Jones’s illness — will make new converts.” — Alan Zilberman, The Washington Post
“Miss Sharon Jones!” will show at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 4 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.