Zac Manuel

Zac Manuel is a director and cinematographer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Zac’s work in documentary draws from complex legacies of Southern identity, with particular interest in the impacts of history and inheritance on Black communities. Zac’s cinematography credits include Alone (Sundance 2017 Jury Award Winner – Best Non-Fiction Film), Time (2021 Academy Award nominee for Best Feature Documentary), Buckjumping, and Descendant, which was released on Netflix. His directing credits include This Body (New Orleans Film Festival 2021 - Best Louisiana Short), released on PBS, Nonstop, which was acquired by the Criterion Channel, and Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, which was released on Max. Zac's latest feature documentary, Ghetto Children, premiered at the 2024 New Orleans Film Festival and was produced by XTR. Zac is a 2024 Pew Foundation Fellow and the proud son of a touring jazz musician and a community builder at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

‍

ABOUT THE INSTRUMENT

A legendary jazz singer, grappling with the deterioration of his voice and seeking to reconcile the mysterious roots of his Southern Creole family, embarks on a journey with his filmmaker son to use artificial intelligence to resurrect the voice of his late father, a mesmerizing vocalist he regrets never recording.