NEWLY FUNDED: ITVS is Pleased to Announce Funding for Filmmakers Reuben Atlas and Carol Bash

The Two newly funded ITVS documentaries — Brothers Hypnotic (Reuben Atlas) and Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band (Carol Bash) look at the past, present, and future of  jazz.

Brothers Hypnotic follows the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, a Chicago-based brass group featuring the eight sons of legendary jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran, whose music ties the currents of jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Reuben Atlas' film follows the brothers as they make their way on the streets of New York and in the music business, but with stardom on the horizon, they must test their father's ideals against their own brotherly vision.

During an era when Jazz was the nation’s most popular music, Mary Lou Williams was one of its greatest innovators. As both a pianist and composer, she was a wellspring of daring and creativity who helped shape the sound of 20th century America. And like the dynamic, turbulent nation in which she lived, Williams seemed to re-define herself with every passing decade. From World War I through the Vietnam War, from the birth of jazz to the height of rock and roll, Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band, by filmmaker Carol Bash, follows a jazz icon who was determined to create in a world that could not see past her race or gender. Join us in congratulating both filmmakers!