The 19th annual Tribeca Film Festival will open on April 15 with the world premiere of the documentary “Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President.”
The film explores Carter’s lifelong passion for all genres of music and how it helped propel him, a former peanut farmer from Georgia, all the way to the White House. Carter’s friendships with musicians like Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers and Willie Nelson will be featured, and archival footage of performances by Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Buffett and Paul Simon will be shown. The doc is directed by Mary Wharton, produced by Chris Farrell and written by Bill Flanagan.
“The film accurately captures my love for all music and the importance music has played in my personal and professional life,” Carter said in a statement. “I remain hopeful and believe that music can serve to bring us together as a nation. Rosalynn and I are pleased with the fine film Mary and Chris have made and thank all those involved for telling this story. We are thrilled that it will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival.”
Live performances from Nelson, Paul Shaffer, and others will follow the premiere at the Beacon Theatre.
Popular on Variety
Wharton won the 2004 Grammy award for best long form music video for “Sam Cooke: Legend.” Her other credits include “Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound,” the Phish concert film “IT” and “Biography: Farrah Fawcett Forever.” “Jimmy Carter” was also produced by Dave Kirkpatrick and executive producers include Dan Braun, Peter Conlon, and David Crawford. Submarine will handle sales for the film.
This year’s festival will run from April 15-26. Tribeca is partnering with Democracy Works and Civic Alliance to give audiences access to online tools that make voting easy and tips about ways to get involved in their local elections.