“With Godchild, I celebrate four great musicians through space and time. From Grace Cathedral, where Duke Ellington recorded A Concert of Sacred Music, to John and Alice Coltrane’s home in Dix Hills, where John wrote “A Love Supreme;” from the house in Queens where Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille made a home, to the woods where Miles Davis could hear church music in the distance, the film honors the sharing of knowledge throughout generations.
The film was shot by several cameramen throughout America and includes the feather ceremony directed by Sonia Hernandez. “ – AG Rojas
(b. 1987) With a sharp eye for visuals, mood, and sequence, Andres Gonzalez Rojas launched his career as a music video director working with artists like Jack White, Spiritualized, Purity Ring, Gil Scott-Heron, and Emeli Sande. After leaving the Art Center College of Design, AG started directing music videos in Los Angeles. AG creates stunning, poetic, and cinematic imagery and constructs unique narratives. In the past 10 years, AG has garnered nominations for his music videos from the Directors Guild of America and won for Best New Director.
[Duke Ellington composing at the piano], 1928. Valentino Sarra. Duke Ellington Collection. Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.