Park City now knows Cole
Music documentary gains more recognition

By Martin Kelley
Editor-In-Chief

Sundance and Slamdance aren't the only festivals that take place in Park City, Utah. Occasionally other, less hyped, film festivals invade the cozy ski town vying for the attention of the masses who travel there in search of movies. Over the years, festivals such as No Dance, Slamdunk and TromaDance have taken up residence right on Main Street.

Walker at the AFI Festival in the 1990s for his film Post No Bills. (photo: Clay Walker)

This year, the Park City Film Music Festival (January 19-29) continued in the tradition of offering filmgoers an alternative. An excellent documentary from an Atlanta filmmaker graced the screens of this festival: The Cole Nobody Knows, from director Clay Walker, showcases a musician who has labored for decades comparatively anonymous in the shadow of more famous family members.

Walker's subject carries a surname that is certainly familiar, but his first name is not nearly so recognizable as a couple of his close relatives. Jazz pianist and vocalist Freddy Cole is the younger brother of legendary musician Nat "King" Cole and uncle to Natalie Cole. A relative lack of fame doesn't bother F. Cole, however; as one of the songs he performs in the film proclaims, he's not his brother, he's just Freddy—and that's quite a person to be.

Long respected by his peers, Freddy Cole is just now, at the ripe young age of 74, gaining the kind of wider acknowledgment due a musician so talented in his own right. Cole, born Lionel Frederick Cole on October 15, 1931 in Chicago, has called Atlanta home since 1972. In spite of his age and the belated onset of fame, Cole is still at the top of his game, as the performances beautifully captured in this documentary attest.

The Cole Nobody Knows earned the Audience Choice Award in the musical documentary category at the Park City Film Music Festival. The film has been showcased in dozens of other festivals around the globe, and recently received the Director's Choice award at the 2006 Black Maria Film & Video Festival. It will begin an extensive nationwide tour with selected films from the festival from late February through June.

Walker himself is no stranger to film festivals and honors. In 1992, his widely acclaimed documentary for PBS, Post No Bills, played countless film festivals including Sundance, and won the Silver Hugo Award for Best Documentary from the Chicago International Film Festival.

That film—which Walker produced, directed, photographed and edited—focused on the work of infamous "guerilla" poster artist Robbie Conal, in particular the reaction to his controversial poster of Los Angeles police chief Daryl F. Gates.

Walker, who grew up in Brooklyn, earned a degree in film and television production from the School of Cinema at the University of Southern California. He moved to Atlanta in the mid-1990s, and currently owns and runs Plan B Productions here.

Martin Kelley is a local screenwriter and filmmaker. He is a co-founder and co-president of the Atlanta Screenwriters Group. Martin's screenwriting credits include "Loaded Dice," "Behind the Nine" (Echelon Entertainment) and "Vicious" (M.T.I. Home Entertainment).

Dancing in Park City:
The Cole Nobody Knows

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