About the Film: Told through a series of vignettes animated over 16mm plates, "Tuning René Marie" is a short mixed media documentary about twice GRAMMY-nominated jazz vocalist René Marie's extraordinary and often difficult path in life, and the saving grace of music at every turn.

About the Filmmaker: Rachel Kessler is a filmmaker and screenwriter based in Queens, New York, whose work often lies at the intersection of social justice and politics, examining aspects of identity and belonging. Originally from Atlanta, Rachel studied history at Williams College with a concentration in the History of Liberty in the United States. Rachel was named one of AIR Serenbe’s Independent Fellows in 2021 for a feature length script she is currently writing titled dreamPark — a data heist set in a near future with a binary caste system of cyborgs and humans.