John Legend Gets Behind Young Philadelphia Musicians in Doc ‘Stand Up & Shout’

variety.com:

Addie Morfoot Contributor John Legend is no stranger to documentaries. Last month, he and his Get Lifted Films’ co-founders Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius announced that they would serve as executive producers on Oscar-nominated Waad Al-Kateab’s latest docu “We Dare to Dream.” This month, Legend is behind HBO Documentary Films’ “Stand Up & Shout: Songs From a Philly High School.” About an annual music program in the city’s Hill-Freedman World Academy, the 54-minute docu features 10th-grade students learning to write, compose, produce, and perform original songs.

Together with local musicians, the students pitch concepts, work out arrangements, and eventually create an album that captures the challenges they are living through and the joy music brings to their respective lives.

Director Amy Schatz spent one school year following a group of students from the program as they came up with song ideas, went through the recording process, and release their collaborative album.

Legend, Jackson and Stiklorius, who have a first-look feature documentary deal with HBO, joined the project as executive producers after Schatz began filming. “I really believe in the importance of music and education and the importance of arts and education,” says Legend. “Often, those programs are the first things to get cut when people make prioritization decisions about where money can go in the school district.