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New York Times' CRITICS' PICK documentary, The Girls In The Band

The historic Art Theatre of Long Beach [2025 E. 4th Street] presents a special screening of the New York Times' CRITICS’ PICK documentary, The Girls In The Band, showcasing unsung female jazz instrumentalists of the late 30′s to the present. The film screens Saturday and Sunday July 6 & 7 at NOON featuring Q&A following the film. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.arttheatrelongbeach.com.
"A vivid experience...I sat there watching and just wiping away tears of joy." —Herbie Hancock"Everything a worthwhile documentary should be, and then some: engaging, informative, thorough and brimming with delightful characters."—New York Times“Lively and entertaining...Director Judy Chaikin infuses this fine portrait with grace, nostalgia and a well-calibrated dose of social commentary.”—Los Angeles Times“A real crowd-pleaser...The pic may prompt a rewrite of jazz history.”—Variety

Audience Award Winner at Palm Springs Int'l Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival, and Omaha Film Festival

They wiggled, they jiggled, they wore low cut gowns and short shorts, they kow-towed to the club owners and smiled at the customers…and they did it all, just to play the music they loved.  THE GIRLS IN THE BAND tells the poignant, untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists and their fascinating, groundbreaking journeys from the late 30′s to the present day.  These incredibly talented women endured sexism, racism and diminished opportunities for decades, yet continued to persevere, inspire and elevate their talents in a field that seldom welcomed them.  Today a new breed of gifted young women are taking their rightful place in the world of jazz, which can no longer deny their talents. TRT: 88 Minutes. 

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6XDjh8gRGgWebsite: http://www.thegirlsintheband.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegirlsintheband

Filmmaker's Comments: It started with a phone call from a friend telling me that she’d met a woman who had been a big-band musician in the forties. As a kid I spent my summers in Ocean Park, and as you walked the magical pier at night you could hear the music drifting from the glamorous dance halls nearby. That started my great love for big band music and by the time I was in my twenties I had seen or heard probably every major band that ever played the West Coast. Never once did I see a woman play an instrument in any of those big bands. True, there were a few all-female bands, but to me they were mainly “novelty acts." Real, honest, female big band musicians?  My curiosity was piqued and out of that came a desire to find out if there was anything worth exploring.  Much to my surprise a lot of interesting information began to surface.  There were many women musicians who had devoted their lives to jazz and swing band music.  Not only in the past, but all the way through the 20th century and up to the present day. 
Armed with a dynamo executive producer, Mike Greene and a couple of generous grants from Hugh Hefner and Herb Alpert, THE GIRLS IN THE BAND started taking shape. We hope that the great joy we all had in learning about these amazing women, will be shared by the viewers and that the film will bring these artists the admiration and respect they so rightly deserve. This film is my tribute to their courage and musical artistry, which has never been properly celebrated.  It’s also an homage to my younger self who has never stopped loving jazz, music, and the golden sound of a trumpet.  Our greatest satisfaction will come if this film can inspire a new crop of young female jazz musicians to stand on the shoulders of those early pioneers and to reach for the stars. —Judy Chaikin, Director/ Producer

Judy Chaikin is a graduate of AFI's Directing Workshop for Women and is best known for writing, producing and directing the Emmy nominated PBS documentary, LEGACY OF THE HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST. In 2004 she received her second Emmy nomination for the documentary BUILDING ON A DREAM and directed and co-wrote the short romantic-comedy film, COTILLION ‘65, which has appeared in 40 film festivals winning Best Short, Best Comedy, Best Director and Audience Choice Awards.  Ms. Chaikin was a Supervising Producer/Segment Director on the ABC series, FBI: THE UNTOLD STORIES, a Co-Producer of the CBS Movie Of The Week, STOLEN INNOCENCE, the Writer/Director of the bilingual PBS documentary, LOS PASTORES and was named Best New Music Video Director by Billboard Magazine in 1991. In 1996 Ms. Chaikin won the Blue Ribbon at the American Educational Film and TV Festival for the docu-drama, SOJOURNER TRUTH: AIN’T I A WOMAN, featuring Julie Harris. Her other directing work includes the MTV underground hit by Kommunity FK “Something Inside Me Has Died,” the Nickelodeon series “On The Television,” the Broadway production of “Yenta Unplugged” and the Odyssey Theater production of Martin Sherman’s “Rose.”

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