River City Drumbeat film from 10-Time Emmy-Winning Filmmaker Marlon Johnson and Award-Winning Filmmaker Anne Flatté will have virtual cinema release starting Friday, August 7th.
River City Drumbeat is a powerful story of music, love, and legacies set in the American South. Edward “Nardie” White devoted his life to leading the African-American drum corps he co-founded with Zambia Nkrumah in Louisville, Kentucky three decades ago. Together they inspired youth from their West Louisville neighborhood to thrive by connecting them with the art and cultural traditions of their African ancestors. Now Albert Shumake, whose destiny was shaped by the drumline, must take up the mantle for the next generation. Meanwhile, student drummers Imani, Jailen, and Emily navigate adolescence and life changes.
The film follows this creative community of mentors, parents, and youth making their way in a world where systemic forces raise obstacles to fulfilling their dreams.
Director Marlon Johnson is a ten-time Emmy award-winning producer and director. He has worked on award-winning documentary films exploring music and cultural issues like Symphony in D (2017); Emmy-winning Sunday’s Best (2010) and Coconut Grove: A Sense of Place (2005).
The Ford Foundation commissioned Marlon to direct the documentary Breaking the Silence (2006), which chronicled the rise of HIV infection in the Black-American South. Marlon served as Head of Production and Senior Producer/Editor for Plum TV and helped create TeleAmerica Broadcasting Network. His documentary Deep City: Birth of the Miami Sound (SXSW 2014) aired nation-wide on PBS. He has a B.S. in Communications from The University of Miami.
Director Anne Flatté is an award-winning filmmaker whose work highlights stories about music and community. She is a director and producer of Symphony for Nature (PBS, 2018), the web series Music Makes A City Now (YouTube/PBS.org), and producer of Serenade for Haiti (World premiere, DOC NYC 2016). She co-produced and edited Music Makes A City (2010), and the TV version for broadcast (PBS, 2014). Her editing credits include Monumental: David Brower’s Fight for Wild America (2004), What Do You Believe? (2003), Daughters and Sons (2005) and Devil’s Teeth (2005). Anne has an M.A. in documentary film from Stanford, where she directed the award-winning shorts Interlove Story and Body of Tradition. She has a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from UC Berkeley.