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Mardi Gras • Jazz • African-American Self-Emancipation • Community Literacy • Power of Family • Beading as a Cultural ArtDate of Completion: 2023 | Run Time: 70 minutes | Language: English with English, French & Spanish subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Daniel Wolff | Producer: Bonnie Elder Yassky & Brooklyn Demme
GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME is the product of some 17 years, begun on a visit to post-Katrina New Orleans in 2006 by Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme and writer Daniel Wolff. Their visits continued, 4-times-a-year, for the next six years. After Demme's death, in 2017, Wolff, Demme's son Brooklyn, and a film crew returned to New Orleans in 2019 to bring the project up to date. The desire to finish this project and the persistence to do so comes from the Harrison family's inspirational work in what Cherice Harrison-Nelson calls "self-emancipation." Long before Katrina and in the years since, the Harrisons have forged cultural weapons to resist racism and oppression both locally and on a national scale. As this film documents, their tools include music, beading, masking, literacy, and community building. Whether handing out books to pre-schoolers, being nominated for Grammys, making films, or sewing elaborate ceremonial clothing, the Harrisons have kept their eyes on the prize. GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME offers a decade-and-a-half overview of one family's trials and eventual triumph.
The City College & Graduate Center CUNY | Jerry W. Carlson, Professor, Department of Media & Communication Arts
"If America is a melting pot, then New Orleans is its gumbo recipe. While Hurricane Katrina destroyed lives and property, it also threatened the gumbo itself, the rich African inflected culture of the city. The intimate documentary GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME immerses us in the activism of the Harrison family as they work on a day to day basis to make sure that the flavors of their city never lose their taste. More than a decade in the making, this candidly observed film will spur any spectator to join the fight to preserve New Orleans' unique traditions and carry them into the future. "
NY Foundation For the Arts | Matthew Seig
"The art and music highlighted in Guardians of the Flame is spectacular; even more so, the story being told. It's about the power of art and the role of artists in building communities that reflect the traditions and aspirations of those who live in them. Not only will it make you want to live in such a community, it will inspire you to help create one."
Emerging Equity | Tina Vasquez
“It is rare to be invited into the deeper layers that bind a community of people together. Guardians of the Flame allows us to sit in on one extraordinary family and - while we relish the most joyous and beautiful expressions of rhythm, color and artistry - to ponder what we safeguard and what legacy we are building. While no film may ever be able to encapsulate a whole people’s culture, Guardians conveys what can be with reverence and importance.”