PRESS
SUNSET AND THE MOCKINGBIRD / 2024
The love story of Gloria Clayborne and renowned jazz pianist Junior Mance, whose charmed career spans seventy years.
Junior has played with Dizzy, Dinah, Cannonball––all the greats. But it’s not until 1996, that he meets his great love: Gloria Clayborne. They quickly marry, she becomes his manager, and they travel the world together, with music at the center of their relationship.
Then in 2012, Junior has a stroke and develops dementia. Although his musical abilities are still impeccable, Gloria knows their time is limited. She’s compelled to consider-- who will he be without the music? Who will she be? Who will they be together?
A buoyant pragmatist, Gloria keeps them both on key, but slowly accepts that she cannot control everything with sheer will. Ultimately she is forced to let go and learns to improvise.
Gloria and Junior’s relationship, in its enduring complexity, imperfection and connection, offers insight into navigating life’s challenges with love and empathy.
Sunset and the Mockingbird, filmed over 10 years, is told from Gloria’s perspective. It is loosely structured around her personal journal entries, functioning in a way like the spine of a jazz composition. Using verité footage intertwined with archival photos and film, the film fluidly moves from past to present, as memory does.
Director
Jyllian Gunther
Producer
Kali Holloway
Jyllian Gunther
Edited by
Nicolás Nørgaard Staffolani
Amy Foote
Melissa Neidich
Music by
Tim Hecker
Cinematography by
Jyllian Gunther
Cast
Junior Mance
Gloria Clayborne