Behind the Scenes of the Sun Ra Day Festival Film Series: Mentorship, Legacy & Community
This summer, Birmingham, Alabama transformed into a cosmic crossroads of art, memory, and activism with the Sun Ra Day Festival—a citywide celebration of one of the most innovative and misunderstood figures in jazz history. But beyond the music, the sold-out venues, and the stellar lineup, a quiet story unfolded behind the scenes—one of mentorship, collaboration, and community storytelling.
As a longtime Creative Advisor and Producer for the Red Hot Organization, I’ve worked on many projects that fuse music with social impact. But this one hit differently. Raised between Huntsville, Alabama, and Detroit, I’ve always felt the pull between these two powerful cultural landscapes—just like so many Black families shaped by the Great Migration. This was my opportunity to bring something back to the South. To tell a story that could spark imagination and pride for young Black creatives in Birmingham—the very city where Sun Ra began his cosmic journey.
Passing the Baton: Mentoring the Next Generation of Storytellers
Through a collaboration with Lee Shook (@theaudiovore) and his organization Film Birmingham, I had the privilege of producing a short-form video series that captured the ethos of the festival. Lee introduced me to a rising filmmaker, DeSean Motley (@dmotproductions), and I mentored him throughout the process—helping him shape raw footage into powerful narrative arcs that could live beyond the festival.
With the support of Red Hot, we offered a micro-grant to help bring the project to life. DeSean teamed up with talented cinematographer Kyle Sullivan (@neoteotihuacan), and together, under our creative guidance, they shot, edited, and helped craft three compelling short films with 5 segments covering the festival that now live at the heart of the Sun Ra Day Festival’s digital legacy.
🎥 Watch the full series at: redhot.org/ra
🎬 Reel 1: Sun Ra: Origins & Legacy
The first short in the series explores Sun Ra’s deep roots in Birmingham, tracing how his early life in Alabama, and early bandstand experiences—shaped the radical imagination that would define his work. It’s a spiritual homecoming and a challenge to reinsert Sun Ra into the cultural narrative of the city that too often forgot him.
“Sun Ra is one of the most important and influential figures not just in Birmingham music history, but in jazz history, period.”
— Lee Shook, from Reel 1: Origins & Legacy
🎬 Reel 2: Venues & Institutions Coming Together
This segment celebrates the collaborative spirit of the festival. From legendary venues like The Nick and Saturn, to cultural anchors like Sidewalk Cinema and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, the short films reveals how Birmingham’s arts ecosystem came together with a unified YES—to honor the legacy of jazz in Birmingham and the genius of Sun Ra, to build community, and support each other and marginalized communities during a challenging period for Southern nonprofits.
These weren’t just venues; they were vessels of memory, resistance, and transformation.
🎬 Reel 3: For the Community, By the Community
In true Sun Ra fashion, the festival was a manifestation—a dream turned into reality by grassroots collaboration. With just two months to go, the team raised $31,000 in seven weeks, activated a network of passionate supporters, and filled every venue to capacity. It became a fundraiser not just for awareness about the jazz icon Sun Ra, but for the very institutions that keep Birmingham’s creative flame alive.
The Mission: Why This Film Series Matters
This project was more than a film series. It was a love letter to Birmingham, a mentor-to-mentee knowledge transfer, and a call to action for how we preserve, document, and honor Black cultural innovation. It was a chance to help reframe Sun Ra not as a mythic, distant figure, but as Birmingham’s first son of jazz—and to inspire young people from the city to see that legacy in themselves.
And yes, it was deeply personal. I’ve long hoped to mentor a young Black filmmaker from Alabama. I’m honored the Red Hot enabled me to pass on knowledge using the story of Sun Ra as a bridge to larger conversations—about music, identity, liberation, and environmental justice in Birmingham and beyond.
🎥 Watch the Film Series + Learn More
Watch the full Sun Ra Day Festival series and explore the people, places, and power behind the celebration at:
👉 redhot.org/ra
About Film Birmingham
A vital partner in the Sun Ra Day Festival film series, Film Birmingham serves as the official film office for Birmingham and Jefferson County and operates as an initiative of Create Birmingham—the region’s leading nonprofit for arts and creative economic development.
More than just a resource for visiting productions, Film Birmingham plays an active role in nurturing the city’s homegrown film industry through workshops, networking events, educational outreach, and the promotion of local talent and history. As the creative hub for filmmaking in the Magic City, Film Birmingham is helping shape Birmingham’s identity as a rising force in Southern cinema—fostering both innovation and inclusion across the region’s vibrant storytelling landscape.
Collaborative Spirit & Community Impact
The Sun Ra Day Festival brought together a wide array of community venues, experimental art spaces, educational programs, and passionate collaborators, reflecting Sun Ra’s ethos of knowledge transmission, experimentation, and collaborative creation.
Our collaborative orgs:
- Earth Libraries — @earthlibraries
- The Music Origins Project — @musicoriginsproject
- AIDS Alabama — @aidsalabama
- Energy Alabama — @energyalabama
- Create and Film Birmingham — @createbham
Our venues:
- Sidewalk Cinema — @sidewalkfilm
- Seasick Records — @seasickrecords
- The Saturn — @saturnbham
- The Nick — @thenickbham
- East Village Arts — @eastvillageartsbham
- Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame — @alabamajazzhall
- House of Found Objects — @houseoffoundobjects
Our storytelling team:
-
David Grandison Jr, Producer—@Technomecca
- Lee Shook, Festival Founder, Co Producer— @theaudiovore
- Kyle Sullivan, Videographer — @neoteotihuacan
- DeSean Motley, Videographer, Editor — @dmotproductions
- Upendo Kissai, Editor, Socials Lead
