Tourism chiefs hope for hit with music film

NEW YORK — American tourism bosses are using the country’s music to try to reverse the slump in visitors to the United States from overseas.

Brand USA, which markets U.S. tourism around the world, is behind a new IMAX movie, America’s Musical Journey, which premières this week.

The 40-minute film aims to show off America’s musical heritage to the world.

It is narrated by Morgan Freeman and stars Grammynominated singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc as he explores American music history in cities such as New Orleans, Memphis, Detroit and Miami.

In New York on Tuesday, Blacc said he hopes the movie sparks in viewers a “love for music. I want them to learn about the growth of different genres that were born here in the U.S. like jazz, blues, rock, even hip-hop. If you get to see America’s Musical Journey, you’ll see all the best there is to see here in the U.S. Politics aside, it’s a beautiful country.”

Tom Garzilli, chief marketing officer for Brand USA, said the film is designed to “remind the world how diverse, all-inclusive and welcoming the country is.”

International visitors to the U.S. dipped nearly four per cent during the first eight months of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. Some in the travel industry have blamed the downturn on anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner rhetoric from the administration of President Donald Trump.

The movie looks at the roots of African-American musical traditions in the South, beginning with music brought by enslaved Africans. Over time, that music developed into genres like gospel, the blues and jazz. The stories of the legendary trumpeter Louis Armstrong in New Orleans and rock ’n’ roll phenomenon Elvis Presley in Memphis are showcased, along with scenes of breakdancers in Times Square, country music from Nashville and Motown in Detroit.

The movie follows Blacc as he travels from city to city, learning from musicians and incorporating their various styles into a new song of his own, My Story. In Miami, he gets a lesson in Latin beats from superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio.

It is the second movie from Brand USA in collaboration with MacGillivray Freeman Films. The first, National Parks Adventure in 2016, celebrated the beauty and thrills of America’s parks.