Genre
Synopsis
ELLIS is the the first feature-length documentary about New Orleans pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. and the Marsalis Music Family. The film documents the life of this exceptional New Orleans composer, performer, and educator and the profound influence that the city had on him -- and that he had on the jazz that came out of New Orleans. It is also a story of how one man transcended racial injustices he faced from his birth in the Jim Crow South to his death from COVID 19.
Bio
SASCHA JUST is a New York-based filmmaker, born and raised in Berlin. She emigrated to the US to make films about music-related topics and the urban experience.
Her documentary ELLIS, the first feature-length film about New Orleans pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr., premiered at DOC NYC, is currently on the festival circuit in Europe and the US and scheduled for streaming release in 2024.
Parallel to the ELLIS festival tour Sascha directed the documentary FOOD TRUCK KINGS ASTORIA for the French-German network ArteTV (air date 01/27/24 & 03/07/24).
Sascha is currently developing a feature-length documentary, BULBANCHA IS A PLACE, about New Orleans’ hidden histories. She is in pre-production for the documentary SWAMPBIRDS about the impact of coastal erosion in Louisiana on Cajun culture for ArteTV (production May 2024).
Prior to ELLIS and FOOD TRUCK KINGS ASTORIA, Sascha produced and directed the short documentary BIG CHIEF about New Orleans Black Indian Chief Darryl Montanta's path to Mardi Gras, and the short documentary AMBASSADORS.
Sascha’s films screened among other at DOC NYC, the St. Louis In. Film Festival, Krakow Int. Film Festival, See the Sound, the AmDocs, RiverRun, USA Film Festival.
Sascha holds a BA in Film and an MA/PhD in Performance, Theater and Film Studies from the City University of New York (CUNY). She teaches in the Communications Department of Baruch College, CUNY.
Credits
Cast - Wynton Marsalis
Cast - Branford Marsalis
Cast - Wendell Pierce
Cast - Jason Marsalis
Music Supervisor - Jason Marsalis
