Bonnie Blue: James Cotton’s Life in the Blues is an emotionally evocative feature documentary that portrays the untold story of James Cotton, a legend whose musical influence shaped the Chicago Blues style having been mentored with the originators of the Delta blues tradition. Cotton’s life tracks a swath of America’s history — from the post-depression cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta to tough Chicagoland’s era of brilliant artistic reinvention to today’s live music scene in Austin, Texas. In between are tours with Janis Joplin, Paul Butterfield and sessions with the Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Steve Miller, B.B. King and many more. This new film capture’s America’s soul as the blues becomes interpreted in jazz, big band, rock and roll, punk, hip-hop and rap.
Judy Laster, Executive Producer, is an attorney and the founder/director of The Woods Hole Film Festival, Cape Cod, MA; now in its 31st year. As the founder and the director of the WHFF, she has overseen the growth and development of the WHFF and screened thousands of films by emerging independent filmmakers. She worked for many years as a policy attorney in the Massachusetts House and Senate and the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, In 2001, she co-founded The Reel Blues Fest with James Montgomery, joining together the WHFF and The New England Blues Society to produce concerts and film events, the proceeds from which would support emerging filmmakers and help musicians access medical care. She is also on the board of directors of Open Cape Corp.
Co-Producer: James Montgomery, Co-founder of The Reel Blues Fest is a blues musician and harmonica player and the leader of the James Montgomery Blues Band, which he formed in Boston in the 1970s.
Producer-Director: Bestor Cram, founded Northern Light Productions in 1982, a non-fiction motion picture production company creating scores of permanent museum installations, numerous documentaries for television, and multi-screen installations. His work includes award winning feature documentaries: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, The Orange Blossom Special, Beyond the Walland recently Birth of a Movement, JFK The Last Speech and The Last American Colony—One Man’s Revolution.
Born in New York City and educated as an attorney, David Heilbroner worked as a musician and non-fiction author before turning to documentary filmmaking in the 1990s. His films have been screened on television and in film festivals and theatres worldwide. David’s awards include an Oscar nomination (TRAFFIC STOP), NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Documentary (SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND), Peabody Award, Emmy Nominee (THE NEWBURGH STING), Peabody Award (STONEWALL UPRISING), Series Emmy winner (SCOPES: THE BATTLE OVER AMERICA’S SOUL), and Emmy for Best Direction (JOCKEY). David is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is married to filmmaker Kate Davis.
