New York Premiere
Paquito D'Rivera: from Carne y Frijol to Carnegie Hall
Feature | United States | 73 Minutes | English, Spanish

This lively and heartfelt documentary traces the remarkable life and career of Paquito D’Rivera, a 16-time Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning artist whose boundless musical curiosity defies genre. A virtuoso clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer, D’Rivera left Cuba in 1980 at great personal risk, forging an immigrant success story defined by brilliance, humor, and reinvention. Filmed across New York, Boston, Miami, and Uruguay, the film features intimate performances and collaborations with D’Rivera’s longtime friend Chucho Valdes and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Director: Juan Mandelbaum (Our Disappeared/Nuestros Desaparecidos; Caetano in Bahia; A New World of Music) After the screening: A live conversation with Director Juan Mandelbaum. Theater B

Sunset and the Mockingbird
Short | United States | 29 Minutes | English

As the memory of jazz legend Junior Mance begins to fade, his soulmate, Gloria Clayborne, discovers that their connection is timeless through the music that shaped their love. Together, they redefine what love means as music becomes their enduring bond. Junior performed with jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, and many of the greatest artists of his era. But it was not until 1996 that he met the love of his life, Gloria Clayborne. They quickly married, she became his manager, and together they traveled the world with music at the heart of their relationship. Then, in 2012, Junior suffered a stroke and developed dementia. Although his extraordinary musical abilities remained remarkably intact, Gloria knew their time together was limited. She found herself asking profound questions: Who will he be without the music? Who will she be? And who will they become together? Director: Jyllian Gunther