New Documentary Explores Jazz Visionary Sun Ra's Enduring Influence

The film 'Sun Ra: Do the Impossible' illuminates the mythmaker and Afrofuturist architect whose impact resonates across music, fashion, and art.

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Christine Turner's documentary 'Sun Ra: Do the Impossible' reframes the composer, bandleader, and philosopher as a visionary music polymath and foundational architect of Afrofuturism, whose influence now pulses through fashion, art, and sound with renewed urgency. The film assembles a kaleidoscope of archival footage, performance clips, and interviews to map Sun Ra's long cultural afterlife, from the interstellar swagger of OutKast to the mystical poise of Erykah Badu.

Why it matters

Sun Ra's radical reframing of Black identity, his insistence on myth as survival, and his refusal to be confined by earthly expectations have made him a seminal figure in Afrofuturism, a movement that imagines Black existence beyond the limitations of the terrestrial world. The new documentary sheds light on his enduring influence across music, fashion, and art.

The details

Born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham in 1914, Sun Ra self-produced more than 200 albums and stretched jazz into realms most listeners had never imagined, from swing and bebop in the late 1930s to radical explorations in free jazz and electronic music from the '60s through the '80s. The documentary features a wealth of archival footage, performance clips, and interviews with his Arkestra members and contemporary thinkers.

  • Sun Ra was born in 1914 in Birmingham.
  • Sun Ra died in 1993.
  • The documentary 'Sun Ra: Do the Impossible' debuted at the Tribeca Festival in 2025 and is now streaming as part of PBS's American Masters series.

The players

Sun Ra

A composer, bandleader, philosopher, and mythmaker who fused cosmic symbolism, ancient Egyptian imagery, and interstellar imagination, and is considered a foundational architect of Afrofuturism.

Christine Turner

The Academy Award–nominated filmmaker who directed the documentary 'Sun Ra: Do the Impossible'.

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What they’re saying

“People who are really drawn to him talk about how he's his authentic self. He was fearless in how he presented himself, and I think for that reason he has often attracted other outsiders.”

— Christine Turner, Filmmaker (Vogue)

The takeaway

Sun Ra's radical vision and his refusal to be confined by earthly expectations have made him a seminal figure in Afrofuturism, a movement that continues to influence music, fashion, and art. The new documentary 'Sun Ra: Do the Impossible' sheds light on his enduring impact and how he paved the way for contemporary artists who channel his interstellar imagination and mythmaking.