The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development's "Born in Bristol," a 53-minute documentary profiling the 2015 recording of Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited, earned shortlist honors at the 63rd Annual Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, in the category of Film Craft – Use of Licensed or Adapted Music.
The shortlist is a list of candidates that have been selected for final consideration at the festival; "Born in Bristol" was one of only 216 out of 2,328 entries to earn that distinction. The films was produced in partnership with the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
Dramatic scenes in "Born in Bristol" were shot over a two-week period in December by Asheville-based Plan A Films. Several locations in and around historic downtown Bristol were chosen to recreate the story of the legendary 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings; a number of local musicians, actors and extras were cast in the film.
"Born in Bristol" interweaves dramatizations of the events surrounding the Bristol Sessions with interviews by recording artists from the Orthophonic Joy CD project. Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, and Sheryl Crow, among others, participated in the film and on the album.
It was on State Street in downtown Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee in 1927 that talent scout Ralph Peer made the first country music recordings of The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, among others, for the Victor Talking Machine Company. The recordings now known as the 1927 Bristol Sessions are recognized internationally as the "Big Bang" of country music and the most influential country music recordings in history.
TDTD also received international accolades for its advertising and marketing campaign, earning a Silver Lion in the Creative Data category for the "Tennessee Vacation MatchMaker" digital advertising campaign and the Bronze Lion in the category of Digital Craft.
