Jazz on Film

June 6–21, 2025

“Jazz on Film” returns with three weekends of screenings that explore the various intersections of jazz and cinema. This year’s series is bookended with two 1960s films scored by Quincy Jones, who passed away in November 2024. Organized by guest curator Peter Lucas, the lineup also features documentaries on drummer Art Blakey and free-jazz visionary Ornette Coleman; the Oscar-nominated Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat connecting jazz with geopolitical history; and a 35th-anniversary screening of Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues.

Guest curator Peter Lucas, founder of “Jazz on Film,” has organized exhibitions, film series, and public programs in association with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Contemporary Arts Museum Houston; the Menil Collection; Aurora Picture Show; Seattle International Film Festival; Northwest Film Forum; and the Museum of Pop Culture. He is also a writer and multidisciplinary artist.