Production Begins On Miles Davis Documentary

Production has begun on a new feature-length documentary, 'Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool', by award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson.

The documentary will be produced by Eagle Rock Entertainment, Firelight Media and American Masters Pictures.

With full access to the Miles Davis Estate, the film will feature never-before-seen footage, including studio outtakes from the musician's recording sessions, rare photos and new interviews. Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Clive Davis, Wayne Shorter and Ron Carter are just a few of the luminaries weighing in on the life and career of a true visionary, an innovator and originator who defies categorisation and commands respect.

Stanley Nelson said: "Miles was a man apart – in life, in love, in music – a singular artist who never looked back and who changed everything we thought we knew about jazz, about music, about life, several times over in his career. With this film, I hope to unpack the mythology that surrounds Mr Davis and present a definitive account of the man behind the legend."

Stanley Nelson most recently directed 'Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities', the Emmy Award-nominated documentary 'The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution' and four-time Emmy Award-winning documentary 'Freedom Riders'. In 2016, he was honoured with a Lifetime Peabody Award, a Lifetime Emmy Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association. He is a 2014 National Humanities Medalist, multiple Emmy Award winner, MacArthur Genius Fellow, and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
 
The documentary will be complete by the fourth quarter of 2018 and a festival and limited theatrical release is planned early in 2019. The film will subsequently have its exclusive US broadcast premiere on 'American Masters' on PBS, while the BBC will have the exclusive UK broadcast of the film, which will be transmitted on BBC Two next year.