Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker, a new feature documentary that has had sold-out screenings at the SXSW, Outfest and Melbourne film festivals and in the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Sound + Vision series, will have its local premiere Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Ciné, located at 234 W. Hancock Ave. The screening is part of UGA’s 2013 Spotlight on the Arts Festival.
The film was directed by Lily Keber, a graduate of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. It was produced by Keber and Nate Kohn, professor of telecommunications in the Grady College and associate director of the George F. Peabody Awards.
The film is a portrait of Booker, a New Orleans pianist whose career spanned decades as a sideman to stars like Little Richard and Aretha Franklin and a solo artist who was revered by fellow musicians but remains deeply obscure to most of the listening public. He died in 1983.
Keber and Kohn will be present for a question-and-answer session and a public reception following the screening. The event is co-sponsored by the UGA Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and the Grady College telecommunications department.
