MIJF: Jazz on Film at ACMI

“An expansive, emotive, celebratory documentary looking at one of history’s most important musical genres” – NPR

Born from the polyrhythmic pulse of Afrobeat, the soul-drenched roots of gospel and R&B, and the swagger of early jazz, funk music rose as a revolutionary force in sound. Fuelled by James Brown’s explosive energy, electrified by George Clinton’s intergalactic Parliament-Funkadelic and driven by Fela Kuti’s Afrobeats, funk carved out a space that was defiant, ecstatic and deeply rooted in Black identity. We Want the Funk! is the story of how funk rewired popular music – one syncopated step at a time.

Directors Stanley Nelson and Nicole London bring a fun, high-energy vibe to this deep dive into a genre that was created to make you groove. Along the way, iconic artists past and present — like James Brown, George Clinton, David Bowie, Questlove, David Byrne and more – share personal stories and insights on funk’s lasting legacy.

Don’t miss this celebration of rhythm, rebellion and the irresistible power of funk.

A kaleidoscopic journey into the life and legacy of Sun Ra, the cosmic jazz pioneer whose radical vision reshaped the universe of sound.

Poet, Egyptologist, cosmologist, historian, activist, musician and jazz pioneer – Sun Ra was all of these. In this illuminating documentary, director Christine Turner takes us on a wild journey through the life of a complex man who was either born in Birmingham, Alabama or, as he famously claimed, was sent from Saturn. With his band, the Arkestra, he expanded the boundaries of free-form jazz and preached his radical philosophy of Afrofuturism – a blend of science fiction, mythology, philosophy and Black liberation.

Turner masterfully balances recollections from the Arkestra’s devoted band members, comments from big-fan historians, scholars and fellow musicians, and the musings of Sun Ra himself. Featuring unforgettable performance footage, Sun Ra: Do the Impossible is a mind-blowing portrait of a man who was as much a visionary as he was a musician.

A joyous celebration of the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival and the visionary Claude Nobs who turned a sleepy Swiss town into the ultimate music destination.

In the 1960s, Claude Nobs had a bold idea: bring a world-class jazz festival to his quiet hometown of Montreux, nestled on the edge of Lake Geneva. What started as a small local event quickly exploded into one of the most legendary music festivals on the planet — with icons like Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Prince, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock and the Talking Heads.

Claude filmed and recorded everything in meticulous detail, resulting in a UNESCO recognised archive of extraordinary depth and quality, much of it never seen before. Until now.

Executive produced by Quincy Jones and directed by Oliver Murray, They All Came Out to Montreux is a joyful, moving tribute to a one-of-a-kind festival and the visionary who made it all happen — featuring rare archival footage, unforgettable performances and firsthand stories from the artists who were there.