Bay Bottom News

You missed it last time?  There have been two PBS broadcasts of JUMP AT THE SUN, first in 2008 and most recently Feb. 22, 2010.  So if you want to see the critically acclaimed ZORA NEALE HURSTON: JUMP AT THE SUN, your best option now is to buy your own copy here or through Amazon.

That pistol-packing mama, Zora Neale Hurston, had a rich life, challenging Jim Crow laws in the South as she collected folklore and the cultural matrix of Black America through her film camera, her brownie camera, and “sound machines” provided by the Library of Congress.  This photo is courtesy of Howard University Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

Selected press clips:  The Miami Herald: “Shimmering”; Detroit Free-Press: “A big story, beautifully told”; New York Times: “Does a fine job outlining Hurston’s life and near-miraculous achievements”; NY Newsday: “An exhilarating portrait of an exhilarating woman”; Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “Irresistible”.

Zora Neale Hurston died January 28, 1960.  And Friday, with less than a week to go before the fiftieth anniversary of her death, the Louvre in Paris will present ZORA NEALE HURSTON: JUMP AT THE SUN at 2:30 (Paris time) at the Louvre Theatre.  While you probably won’t be able to attend the screening (and unfortunately, I can’t go) we can all appreciate how much times have changed so that a feature film about a celebrated African-American novelist and folklorist can have its day at a place of such distinction.  And while you’re thinking about that, remember that Zora Neale Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God in only seven weeks while she was in Haiti doing research for Tell My Horse, her fascinating account of Haiti’s religion.

Bay Bottom News  produced Jump at the Sun, a documentary on the life of anthropologist and author Zora Neale Hurston, in conjunction with PBS’ American Masters series.

Bay Bottom News, has created many highly-acclaimed films for local, state, and national distribution. A long time resident of Tampa-St. Pete , Producer-Writer Kristy Andersen takes special interest in productions that concern Florida’s environment, history, and culture.

Please visit our Credits page for a list of other people whose work and talent infused the documentary, and for a list of the funders and co-producers for the film.