International Sweethearts of Rhythm

From the Piney Woods School in the Mississippi Delta to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City, this toe-tapping music film tells the story of the swinging, multi-racial all-women jazz band of the 1940s.

A 16 piece band with a strong brass section, heavy percussion, and a deep rhythmic sense, the Sweethearts were not just a novelty but featured many of the best female musicians of the day.

Starring Anna Mae Winburn, Ernestine “Tiny” Davis, Vi Burnside, Roz Cron, Evelyn McGee Stone, Helen Jones, Helen Saine, and Pauline Brady, of whom drummer Panama Francis says, “She played drums like a man!”