FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kelly Hargraves (323) 493-1548 kelly.hargraves@firstrunfeatures.com     First Run Features Presents the New York Theatrical Premiere of Vince Giordano - There's a Future in the Past Hot Jazz Documentary Opening at Cinema Village on January 13th   Interviews Available Upon Request   First Run Features announces the New York theatrical premiere of VINCE GIORDANO - THERE'S A FUTURE IN THE PAST on January 13, 2017, at Cinema Village, with other cities to follow. What do Mel Brooks, Michael Feinstein and Woody Allen have in common? They are all wild about Vince Giordano. Giordano, Hollywood's "go-to guy" for authentic period film soundtracks - The Aviator, The Cotton Club, half a dozen Woody Allen features, and the Grammy-winning HBO series Boardwalk Empire - is now, along with his band and his music, in front of the camera in a new documentary about his 40-year career keeping the hot jazz flame alive. Directed and produced by Dave Davidson and Amber Edwards of Hudson West Productions, the film explores how Giordano, with his 11-member band The Nighthawks, has become the leading authority, practitioner, and purveyor of big band music of the 1920s and '30s and chronicles - with humor and pathos - what it takes to keep a Jazz Age enterprise going in the 21st century. "For people who haven't yet experienced The Nighthawks and our music, this is a fantastic showcase for what we do," says Giordano. "And I think our lifelong fans will have their eyes and ears opened by all the crazy stuff that happens offstage in order to keep this music alive." It is one thing to carry the cultural burden of keeping Hot Jazz alive for 40 years, quite another to literally carry the tons of gear that go with its performance for all that time. As co-director Dave Davidson observes, "The tension between those transcendent moments in the spotlight playing the music he loves, and doing what it takes to get there is where the story lies." Giordano's dedication has paid off. A new generation of hip twentysomethings has discovered this "trad jazz" from the early 20th century and embraced it as their own - including the period clothing and dances like the Balboa and the Peabody. "That is not at all surprising," says co-director Amber Edwards. "When this music first appeared 90 years ago, it was wild, shocking music by and for young people. It practically forces you to dance." VINCE GIORDANO - THERE'S A FUTURE IN THE PAST had its world premiere at the Manchester (UK) International Film Festival in March, where it won Best Music Score. Its US premiere was at the Kansas City Film Fest in April, where one jazz historian called it "the best jazz film I have ever seen." In October it drew packed houses and standing ovations at the Carmel (CA) International Film Festival and at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Watch the trailer >> Filmmaker Biographies Dave Davidson's most recent documentary, A Gesture and a Word (2016), follows singer/songwriter Rob Morsberger in the final months of his life after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, during which he produced four new and insightful albums. In 2013 Davidson directed Hans Richter: Everything Turns - Everything Revolves, a profile of the iconic DADAist and experimental filmmaker. In 2015 he received an NEA Art Works grant to create "Rescoring Richter," a transmedia project that invites contemporary musicians to compose new sound environments for Richter's avant-garde films. Davidson has directed several documentaries for PBS, including A Place Out of Time - The Bordentown School (2010); Cissy Houston - Sweet Inspiration (1988) and The Dancing Man - Peg Leg Bates (1992). His numerous awards and honors include an American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Grant and an Emmy Award. Since 1984 he has been professor of film at The City College of New York in Harlem. Amber Edwards is director/producer of the award-winning PBS series, Michael Feinstein's American Songbook, with co-producer and director of photography Dave Davidson. Her previous PBS documentaries include A Place Out of Time - The Bordentown School (2010); Words and Music by Jerry Herman (2008), George Segal: American Still Life (2001), Against the Odds: Artists of the Harlem Renaissance (1994); Vladimir Feltsman - Journey from Home (1993), and The Dancing Man - Peg Leg Bates (1992.) For 21 years she was senior producer and host of NJ Public Television's long-running weekly series, State of the Arts, earning 13 regional Emmy Awards. A graduate of Yale University, she is the founding director of Yale Musical Theater of the Air, an award-winning initiative that brings together professional Yale theater alumni with students, faculty and staff to present classic American musicals in concert. VINCE GIORDANO - THERE'S A FUTURE IN THE PAST Directors - Dave Davidson & Amber Edwards Run Time - 90 minutes Language - English Format - Digital Year - 2016 Genre - Documentary For press inquiries and screeners contact: kelly.hargraves@firstrunfeatures.com Press kit, photos, and other press materials are available at firstrunfeatures.com/vincegiordano_press *In an effort to go green, we're no longer automatically providing paper press kits along with screeners or at press screenings. If you would like us to send a paper press kit with your screener, please let us know.