Director's Statement Years ago I dreamed of making an all encompassing Ken Burns-style film documenting the history of the Blues. Soon I realized this film had already been exquisitely made by Alan Lomax, who had more Blues knowledge than I could ever gain. However, research led me to the story of a lesser known Blues legend with true Delta roots. David Honeyboy Edwards was born into a sharecropper family and used music to leave the plantation at age 16. I became determined to preserve Honeyboy's personal accounts of African American life in the Deep South before the Civil Rights movement; stories of missed opportunities that left him without the fame and fortune attained by his peers; and poignant memories of the passing of his wife and close friends. It took four years to figure out how to finance this film. even as shooting started more than a year and a half ago, I wasn't sure how we'd find the money to complete it. But something I had heard from other filmmakers proved true: once you begin production and show that you are serious and knowledgeable, good things start falling into place. as post-production was recently completed, I'm glad to say "Honeyboy" is very close to the film I envisioned making. I'm very proud to preserve this important part of our nation's cultural history. I believe "Honeyboy" will prove to be invaluable in years to come as more of our living American treasures like David Honeyboy Edwards are no longer with us.
Scott Taradash's Bio

Director's Statement

Years ago I dreamed of making an all encompassing Ken Burns-style film documenting the history of the Blues. Soon I realized this film had already been exquisitely made by Alan Lomax, who had more Blues knowledge than I could ever gain. However, research led me to the story of a lesser known Blues legend with true Delta roots. David Honeyboy Edwards was born into a sharecropper family and used music to leave the plantation at age 16. I became determined to preserve Honeyboy's personal accounts of African American life in the Deep South before the Civil Rights movement; stories of missed opportunities that left him without the fame and fortune attained by his peers; and poignant memories of the passing of his wife and close friends.

It took four years to figure out how to finance this film. even as shooting started more than a year and a half ago, I wasn't sure how we'd find the money to complete it. But something I had heard from other filmmakers proved true: once you begin production and show that you are serious and knowledgeable, good things start falling into place. as post-production was recently completed, I'm glad to say "Honeyboy" is very close to the film I envisioned making.

I'm very proud to preserve this important part of our nation's cultural history. I believe "Honeyboy" will prove to be invaluable in years to come as more of our living American treasures like David Honeyboy Edwards are no longer with us.