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  • bike friendly
  • bug spray available
  • community event
  • food vendors on-site
  • live music
  • picnics allowed

First-time director/drummer from Australia, Alan Hicks, convinced his surfing mate and cinematographer, Adam Hart, to travel to the U.S. to follow and film 89-year-old jazz legend, Clark Terry (Quincy Jones’s first teacher) over four years – to document an unlikely mentorship between Terry and a driven, blind piano prodigy, Justin Kauflin, 23. Clark, now 93, mentored Miles Davis as a young musician and is among the few performers ever to have played in both Count Basie’s and Duke Ellington’s bands. In Keep On Keepin’ On, as Justin is invited to compete in an elite, international competition while battling terrible stage fright, Clark’s health takes a critical turn for the worse. Over the course of filming, Clark loses his sight, which deepens his bond with Justin. As clocks tick, we are suddenly witness to two great friends tackling the toughest challenges of their interwoven lives. The film, from the producer of The Cove and Chasing Ice, captures the passing of the torch from a cultural icon to potentially his last student, inspiring viewers in climactic, cinematic fashion.

$5, suggested donation

6:00 PM

Pre-film live music by 10:2, brought to you by 6th Annual BridgeFest

8:15 PM

Film, followed by post-film Q&A with director Alan Hicks

  • Free bike valet courtesy of Bike Newport (tune-ups for a small charge)
  • Tallulah on Thames taco cart, Tricycle Ice Cream & Le Petit Gourmet will be on-site selling food
  • Picnics welcome

Rain Venue: Jane Pickens Theater, 49 Touro Street, Newport

Run time: 86 minutes
Director: Alan Hicks
Keep On Keepin’ On
This is a past event

Best New Documentary Director, Toronto International Film Festival

Outstanding... Alan Hicks’s moving portrait of the great jazz trumpeter Clark Terry, now in his 90s, and his mentorship of Justin Kauflin, a blind pianist.”

NY Times

Beautifully nostalgic with a reverence for the importance of finding your own sound, Keep On Keepin’ On celebrates an iconic musician while introducing one of equal vibrancy. It is a mentoring tale as inspirational as its subjects.” 

Genna Terranova, Director of Programming, Tribeca Film Festival

This is a rare and inspiring story that will strike a special chord with audiences everywhere, just as it did with us. We’re so thrilled to have the opportunity to share it with the world.” - The Weinstein Company co

chairman, Harvey Weinstein

INSPIRATIONAL... An unforgettable love letter to the power of music and the strong bond of friendship

Presenting sponsor of newportFILM Outdoors

Film shown in partnership with