About the film

A practice known the world over, the origins of "jazz funerals" are as complex as they are varied. Filmed over twenty-two years, City of a Million Dreams explores race relations in American society by training a lens on the unique and resilient culture of New Orleans, as represented in their long-standing burial traditions.

In 2005, writer and vlogger Deb "Big Red" Cotton left Hollywood for New Orleans and became a chronicler of the city's parading club culture spawned by the legacy of 19th century "Funerals With Music". She discovered diffuse origins that arose out of the confluence of African, European, Native American, and Haitian traditions whose intersections were uniquely situated in New Orleans.

Based on Jason Berry's celebrated book of the same name, City of a Million Dreams offers a thoughtful and comprehensive examination on this enduring local tradition that refuses to yield or conform.