DocFest - Sun Ra: Do the Impossible
October 23, 2025
A kaleidoscopic portrait of the visionary jazz musician, composer, and poet known as Sun Ra and the musical, historical, and philosophical currents that shaped him.
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Thursday, October 23, 2025
Poet, philosopher, Egyptologist, bandleader. Jazz visionary Sun Ra was all of these—and more. With his ever-evolving band the Sun Ra Arkestra, he produced more than 200 albums, stretching the boundaries of free-form jazz while weaving ancient Egypt, interstellar metaphors, and scientific musings into a singular musical and spiritual vision of Afrofuturism that continues to reverberate across generations. Director Christine Turner takes us on an illuminating journey through the life of this multi-faceted artist, gracefully balancing recollections from the Arkestra’s still-devout band members and dancers with insightful interviews from music scholars, and unforgettable film and performance footage of Sun Ra himself. The result is a portrait—informative, inspiring, and mind-bending—of a man whose audacious vision, otherworldly imagination, and uncompromising artistry helped shape not only the sound of jazz, but the cultural landscape of the 20th century and beyond.
- Director: Christine Turner
- Country: USA
- Year: 2025
- Running Time: 84 min.
- Producer: Christine Turner
- Cinematographers: Othello Banaci
- Editors: Steven Golliday
- Music: Sun Ra
- Website: Official Film Website
- Filmography: Homegoings (2013)
- Language: English