VTIFF is excited to present this special screening as part of the 2026 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. After the movie, we’re thrilled to welcome filmmaker Robert Mugge for a Q&A.
“One of the most satisfying portraits I’ve ever seen. An extraordinary documentary. Revelatory.” —Richard Brody, The New Yorker
Acclaimed musicologist and documentarian Robert Mugge—the filmmaker behind definitive, clear-eyed chronicles of Sonny Rollins (Saxophone Colossus), Al Green (Gospel According to Al Green), Gil Scott-Heron (Black Wax), and many more—presents his most celebrated portrait, Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise. The film captures the visionary artist-philosopher-Afrofuturist and his avant-garde jazz Arkestra in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 (circa Lanquidity) and 1980, featuring interviews, behind-the-scenes rehearsals, extended improvisations, and poetry readings, as well as out-of-this-world performances at Danny’s Hollywood Palace, the rooftop of the Philadelphia International Center, and Baltimore’s Famous Ballroom. Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise was selected by Time Out London as one of the 50 Greatest Music Films Ever.