Montavilla Jazz and the Blue Cranes were thinking in parallel with their respective pandemic pivots, turning to the local filmmaking community to forge a path through the shutdowns of 2020. Montavilla Jazz paired jazz composers with filmmakers resulting in the three short films within Call + Response, while the Blue Cranes produced music-films to accompany their upcoming release, VOICES, which has been years in the making.

Teaming up with Fernanda D’Agostino of Mobile Projection Unit, Montavilla Jazz and Blue Cranes sought to present their collective films in a unique way while making the event safe during the pandemic and rising case numbers (masks are required at this event).

Festival ’21: Film Night will start with a live performance by Portland post-jazz quintet Blue Cranes followed by a screening of the group’s music-films from their upcoming VOICES album directed by filmmakers Jim Blashfield, Sarah Whelden, Rachel Blumberg, and Reed Wallsmith. VOICES, which began in 2016 as a collaboration between the quintet and nine vocalists, will be released later this Fall.

The evening with conclude with the premiere of Call + Response presented by Montavilla Jazz comprised of three short film collaborations by composer/filmmaker pairings including, Micah Hummel + Jeff Oliver, Noah Simpson + Shilpa Sunthankar, and Idit Shner + Deejuliano Scott.