Since director/producer Corine Dhondee raised funding on Kickstarter to clear copyright costs and complete an online edit here's what's been happening:
In December the work in progress was screened at the Race and Jazz Conference in Milton Keynes to an audience from the US, Europe and Malaysia. There was a private screening in April at the Vancouver Film School and in June the film screened at the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival. There's interest from Sky Arts and a number of companies in the US are interested in viewing the film. And next will be the London premiere, more details soon.
It's been a hell of a run up to today. For the past few days I've been chatting on skype late into the night with Jason, the co-producer in Canada. And then today, I got an early morning call from Peter, asking me to look online. Well, let's just say I jumped at the sun. It's such wonderful news and I agree absolutely with Peter, we could not have done this without your wonderful support.
This amazing adventure to raise the budget for filmaker Corine Dhondee to complete her documentary about the Queen's Suite, and Peter Edwards' dream to play for the Queen of England, is now on the front page of Kickstarter. There are only 12 days left to go and so far over $4,500 of backing from 55 people has been received via the Kickstarter website. If you haven't joined in already please do so right away. And if you need more to convince you, try this from our friends at LondonJazz
To help raise funds for Corine Dhonee's fabulous documentary,The Queen's Suite, Peter Edwards attempted to play 17 pianos located around the City of London. Peter and Corine's journey began on Moorgate Road at 10.15 am.
Did Peter succeed? Check out the video!
If you would like to back The Queen's Suite visit Kickstarter to pledge.
Corine Dhondee, the director and producer of the documentary film The Queen's Suite is raising funding to complete the project on the Kickstarter funding platform. You can invest a little or a lot, and there are some terrific incentives on offer.
Here's what Corine has to say:
The Queen’s Suite is a documentary which tells the story of Peter Edwards, one of Britain's most promising jazz musicians, as he tries to achieve his dream of playing Duke Ellington’s Queen’s Suite (written for the Queen in 1959) to the Queen of England at the centre of London's cultural quarter, The South Bank. The documentary follows Peter as he scores Ellington's work, puts together his orchestra, rehearses them and negotiates with Buckingham Palace. Does the Queen attend the performance? The film provides a unique and intimate insight into the background and career of an exceptional musician. The documentary has an original soundtrack performed by The Tomorrow's Warriors Jazz Orchestra.
In 2008 I saw an orchestra play in London. As I listened to the incredible music, played with dynamism by the young orchestra, who were guided by world famous Jazz musicians of the calibre of Gary Crosby OBE, and passionately directed by a young man, I was moved to make a documentary. There was something else that moved me to make the documentary. The musical director was a young Black British man and so too were many members of the orchestra. This ought not to sound odd, but it struck me because at the time the media was saturated with images of young Black men in Britain as gun or knife toting criminals. Having worked with young Black men as the entertainments manager for the St.Paul's Carnival and as a journalist for Operation Black Vote's citizenship booklet, I know this isn't the full story. But what is true, is the lack of media coverage on young Black British men’swork and achievements. So I decided to make a documentary about the young musical director and his dream of performing Duke Ellington's the Queen's Suite (written for the Queen of England in 1959) to the Queen.
Corine Dhondee's film celebrating the performance of Duke Ellington's Queen's Suite has been accepted by the prestigious Kansas City Jazz FilmFest, running from April 14th-18thThe 26 minute documentary focuses on arranger/pianist Peter Edwards assembling and rehearsing the Tomorrow's Warriors Jazz Orchestra, and finally performing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Autumn 2009The Queen's Suite is a rarely heard masterpiece by Ellington which was especially composed for the Queen of England in 1959
