Plot

As a jazz pianist loses his memory, his wife is challenged to redefine their relationship. She discovers a timeless connection and an enduring bond through the music that shaped their love.

The love story of Gloria Clayborne and jazz pianist Junior Mance unfolds against the backdrop of his remarkable 70-year career, performing with greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Dinah Washington. In 1996, he met his great love: Gloria. They married, she became his manager, and traveled the world together. with music at the heart of their bond. In 2012, Junior suffered a stroke and developed dementia. His musical abilities endured, but Gloria was forced to face a new reality: Who would he be without music. Who would they be? Sunset and the Mockingbird is told from Gloria's perspective, loosely structured around her personal journal entries, much like the spine of a jazz composition. Blending verité footage with archival photos and film, the documentary fluidly moves between past and present, reflecting the rhythm and flow of memory. At its core is the evolving, messy, and tender bond between Gloria and Junior, offering a quiet reflection on love, identity, and how we find our way through life's unexpected turns.

As a jazz pianist loses his memory, his wife is challenged to redefine their relationship. She discovers a timeless connection and an enduring bond through the music that shaped their love. __________________________________________________ The love story of Gloria Clayborne and jazz pianist Junior Mance unfolds against the backdrop of his remarkable 70-year career, performing with greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Dinah Washington. In 1996, he met his great love: Gloria. They married, she became his manager, and traveled the world together. with music at the heart of their bond.

In 2012, Junior suffered a stroke and developed dementia. His musical abilities endured, but Gloria was forced to face a new reality: Who will he be without music. Who will they be?

Sunset and the Mockingbird is told from Gloria's perspective, loosely structured around her personal journal entries, much like the spine of a jazz composition. Blending verité footage with archival photos and film, the documentary fluidly moves between past and present, reflecting the rhythm and flow of memory.

At its core is the evolving, messy, and tender bond between Gloria and Junior, offering a quiet reflection on love, identity, and how we find our way through life's unexpected turns.

Gloria and Junior's enduring, imperfect, yet deeply connected relationship offers a profound insight into navigating life's challenges with love, resilience, and empathy.

This film is about more than a love story. It's a meditation on what it means to build a life around someone else's dreams while grappling with the reality of losing them bit by bit. Gloria's journey with Junior, as his manager and later his caregiver, struck me as a universal yet rarely spotlighted experience-the life of the 'sidewoman' who becomes the steady heartbeat of a legacy. In a society that often only remembers the main stage performers, I wanted to honor the resilience of those behind the scenes who shape, nurture, and ultimately preserve that stage.

The structure of the film itself mirrors Gloria's jazz-like cadence: it moves through her memories and thoughts with an improvised fluidity, layering verité moments with archival footage. This approach allows us to feel her world through her eyes-each frame like a journal entry capturing the blend of love, fatigue, joy, and letting go.

In the end, Sunset and the Mockingbird is an ode to love that remains steadfast in the face of change. It's Gloria's story of holding on, yet learning to release, just as a great jazz piece plays a familiar melody, only to surprise you in its unraveling. I hope this film gives voice to the Glorias of the world and reminds us that every legacy is both a beautiful improvisation and a duet.