KING OF KINGS

CHASING EDWARD JONES

Theatrical release :


ACX Harper Theater - Chicago  Starting September 20th, 2024

Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw and XD - Los Angeles Starting September 27th, 2024

Meet Edward Jones, the man who turned a nickel and dime numbers game into a multimillion dollar enterprise that ultimately became the state lottery

Trailer

Edward Jones

The untold story of the other boss of Chicago, the King of Policy Kings, a man who held too much power and wealth during segregation


Gangster for some, hero for others, who was really Edward Jones? In the '30s and '40s, this descendant of slaves becomes one of the richest men in the US thanks to the Policy business, an illegal numbers game that ultimately became the modern State Lottery. But in these times of segregation, his success and unfailing support to the African American community are a problem. In conflict with both the mob and the Feds, he is forced into a life on the run.

Love, success, violence, revenge, mafia, murder, betrayal, prison, kidnapping... Edward Jones' story holds all the best ingredients of gangster movies. Add segregation and you have a very explosive cocktail!

Uncovering the missing link between Policy and the State Lottery

Policy, also known as the numbers game, was an illegal game controlled by African Americans, the so-called Policy Kings. In this documentary, you’ll find out why they could never get it legalized and what happened afterwards...

Discover a descendant of slaves who became one of the richest men in America

Synopsis

Son of a Reverend, Edward Jones and his family left Mississippi after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. They established themselves in Chicago. In a just a few years, he led himself and his two brothers to phenomenal success thanks to the Policy business, amassing around 25 million dollars, 400 million dollars in today’s currency.

Known as the most famous Policy king of all times, Edward Jones built an empire that employed thousands of people. However, in the early ’40s, his luck began to change when the government began taking a real interest in his affairs. Edward Jones’s race and power made him controversial outside his community and many would not stand for an African American with such power to continue to prosper. Charged with tax evasion, he was thrown in jail for two years where his encounter with Italian mobster Sam Giancana would mark the beginning of the end, but before everything crumbled, he opened many doors.
Mississippi 1907 : Reverend Edward Perry Jones, his wife Harriet and their three sons, Edward, George and Mack

Dive into history through the prism of an astounding man
living in extraordinary times

Through Edward Jones’ journey, we will plunge into key historical events that marked the 20th century, such as the Great Migration, segregation, the Prohibition, the Great Depression, the rise of the mafia, the emancipation of the African American community and the rise of the Democratic Party in Chicago to which my grandfather contributed greatly.

This film is more than a biopic on Edward Jones, it is a quest for truth.

Director’s Statement

King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones takes an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Edward Jones. As his granddaughter, I've had access to countless anecdotes and incredible documents retracing his personal journey in the midst of major historical events. 

Even though it took me years to do all the research and interviews, as well as find the funds to finance the film, as a filmmaker, I could not have asked for a better story. Since I have been living most of my life in Europe, making this documentary was not only an amazing personal and professional experience, it also allowed me to plunge into the history of the United States. 

As Quincy Jones says in the film "It is so important to know and understand your history, because if you know where you come from, it helps you get where you're going." Discovering for instance that African Americans were behind the State Lottery and seeing the incredible impact my grandfather had on Chicago were just some of the many eye-opening facts that I came across. 

Seeing the amazing enthusiastic audience response to the film each time it is being screened makes all this journey worth it. Policy Kings will not fall after all into oblivion.

Festivals

30 festivals / 25 awards :

Chicago Award at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival

Runner-up Audience Award at the 22nd Anchorage International Film Festival

Best Documentary Feature at the 31st Pan African Film Festival Los Angeles

Audience Choice Award at the 23rd Beverly Hills Film Festival

Best Foreign Documentary at the 31st Arizona International Film Festival

Best International Documentary Feature at the 11th Los Angeles Theatrical Release Competition & Awards

Best World Documentary 18th Harlem International Film Festival

Best Documentary Feature at the 21st Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival

Award of Excellence Special Mention : Documentary Feature 20th Accolade Global Film Competition

Best Documentary at the 42nd Breck Film Festival in Colorado

Best of the Fest at the 14th Chagrin Documentary Film Festival in Ohio

Best Documentary at the Oak Park Black Film Festival in Sacramento

Best Documentary Feature at 13th Gary International Black Film Festival

Best Editing at 19th Angel Film Awards Monaco International Film Festival

Best Visual Effects and Animated Sequences 19th Angel Film Awards Monaco International Film Festival

Best Producer at 19th Angel Film Awards Monaco International Film Festival

Best Film 19th Angel Film Awards Monaco International Film Festival

Diamond Globe Award for Best Documentary at the 11th International New York Film Festival

Special Jury Award Best Documentary at the 23rd Frozen River Film Festival, Minnesota

Best Documentary Honorable Mention at the 22nd Riverside International Film Festival

Best Documentary at the 11th Nice International Film Festival

Best Director International Feature Documentary 11th Seattle Film Festival, Washington

Award of Excellence Special Mention Feature Documentary 15th IndieFEST Film Awards, California

Award of Excellence: History / Biographical 15th IndieFEST Film Awards, California

Award of Excellence: Direction 15th IndieFEST Film Awards, California

Award of Excellence Special Mention 9th Impact DOCS Awards

Press

TV INTERVIEWS

- WLS-TV / ABC 7 CHICAGO
- WGN TV
- NBC Channel 5 & Channel 25
- WAMQ-TV / NBC 5 CHICAGO
- KCBS – TVCKAL-TV

RADIO INTERVIEWS

- WDCB-FM Chicago
- WWBM-AM/NEWS
- FILM FESTIVAL RADIO
- AUDACY / TAMY HEIDE

WRITTEN PRESS

- Chicago Tribune
- Chicago Sun Times
- DEADLINE
- BRONZEVILLE LIFE
- CHICAGO CRUSADER
- TAPIN MAGAZINE
- PERCEPTION MAGAZINE
- CALIFORNIA CRUSADER
- LA WEEKLY
- LA WATTS

WEB

- ROGER ERBERT.COM
- CINE-FILE
- AXIOS
- REEL CHICAGO
- BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
- PAFF ORG
- THE WAVE
- IDA SPOTLIGHT
- EIN PRESSWIRE
- GOOGLE
- YAHOO
- BING
- GETTY IMAGES
- AWARDS WATCH
- BRECK FILM FESTIVAL FILMMAKER OF THE MONTH

Participants

Quincy Jones
Record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger, film and television producer who grew up in Chicago’s South Side and who met Edward Jones on various occasions as his father worked as a carpenter for the Jones.
Harriet Jones
Daughter of Lydia and Edward Jones, retired professor of philosophy and religion, Florida International University. She lives in Miami.
Nathan Thompson
Social scientist, but also journalist and musician, unbeatable on the history of the Policy Kings, and the Bronzeville district, of which he knows every corner, he is the author of Kings —The True Story of Chicago's Policy Kings and Numbers Racketeers.
Robert Lombardo
An Emeritus Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Dr. Robert Lombardo, PhD, a sociologist, has written among other books « Organized crime : Causes and Consequences ,» « Organized Crime in Chicago : Beyond the Mafia ,» « The Black Hand : Terror by Letter in Chicago .» He is a 33-year police veteran, having served 28 years with the Chicago Police Department.
Timuel Black
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 7, 1918, he grew up in the neighborhood of Bronzeville, where he rubbed shoulders with the Jones brothers. Educator, Professor and community leader, he has spent his life promoting the cause of social justice. A pioneer of the independent black political movement, he was close to Martin Luther King and the Obama’s. He very recently passed away at over 100 years old.
Nicholas Ford
Cook County Judge, Nicholas Ford worked in the same court where Edward Jones was sentenced before being sent to the penitentiary . Former assistant Cook County State’s Attorney, Criminal Judge Nicholas Ford has recently retired.
Sylvie Laurent
Sylvie Laurent is an Americanist, professor of History and Doctor of American litterature, researcher at Harvard and Stanford University, she teaches at Sciences-Po, Paris. His first book "Homérique Amérique" was published at Le Seuil in 2008 and "Poor white trash, the odious poverty of the American white" was published in December 2011 by the Presses de la Sorbonne. In 2015, she has written a biography on Martin Luther King and other books.
Robert Sengstacke
The nephew of Robert Abbott, founder of The Chicago Defender considered the most important paper of what was then known as the Negro press; and many others. He was an important photographer. He recently passed away.
Johanna Marin Coles
Granddaughter of Edward Jones. Writer of half a dozen books, mother of 3, she lives in Miami with her husband.
Harry Mays
Retired Chicago cop and the nephew of one of the most important Policy King, close friend to Edward Jones.
Thalia Ross
Great granddaughter of Edward Jones. Doing her master. She studies at USC, University of the Sunshine Coast, she lives in Australia.
Danaé Capdevielle
Great-granddaughter of Edward Jones: She lives in Paris and is the worldwide client director at Saint-Laurent.
Tallal Shakarshi
Great-grandson of Edward Jones. He lives in Chicago and is Vice President of Development at LHP Capital.

Team

Award-winner director and producer, Harriet Marin Jones grew up in different countries in Europe. After studying at Loyola University in Chicago and American University in Washington, D.C. where she received a BA in visual media and was voted Best student in the department, she pursued her Masters in Cinema Studies at New York University. During her studies, she wrote and directed a dozen short films that won numerous awards. She started her career as assistant director on feature films in the US and France, while evaluating scripts for two major French broadcasters. Through the years, she wrote and directed two high budgets short films, followed by her first feature film, “Epouse-Moi” distributed by Gaumont. In parallel, she has worked as a script doctor, directed a play by Ray Cooney, and co-produced and directed the pilot for a shortcom for France 2. In 2008, she started her own film and TV company, Abelart Productions. In 2017, she created and launched in Paris two online-course platforms that now totalize over 70 000 students. Harriet has two children, lives in Paris, has traveled to over 100 countries and has just finished her third novel. “King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones”, her first documentary, has won 25 awards in 30 festivals.
Quincy Jones Jr. is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award.
Debbie Allen is an award-winning director and choreographer. She has choreographed the Academy Awards a record ten times and directed and choreographed for legendary artists including Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, etc. Ms. Allen received the Golden Globe for her role as Lydia Grant in the 1980s hit series Fame and is a three-time Emmy Award winner in Choreography. She has been honored with ten Image Awards as director, actress, choreographer and producer for numerous projects and currently serves as Executive Producing Director of Grey’s Anatomy, where she also holds a recurring role as Catherine Fox.
Michel Fessler – Consultant / Co-Writer : Michel Fessler has signed over 30 feature films as either a writer or a co-writer. Three of the films to which he contributed were nominated for Oscars - Farinelli, Ridiculous and The March of the Penguins, which won the Oscar for best documentary.
Philippe Kelly studied guitar and piano in the Conservatory of Versailles. He signed his first record with POLYDOR in 1988. From then on, he composed for various singers and started composing music for ads and films. In 1993, he composed the soundtrack for the "Classe mannequin" series, whose song "Essaye d'imaginer" was number 1 in the top 50. In 2000, Philippe recorded two concept albums entirely acappella. A large number of French artists took part in this adventure. Since then, he has devoted himself solely to music for the image, composing the music of many films and TV Series, like the very successful "Fais pas ci Fais pas ça" for France 2. Among other films, he distinguished himself in 2017 at the cinema with "Monsieur et Madame Adelman" directed by Nicolas Bedos and more recently with "Menteur" by Olivier Barroux. Today, Philippe composes for cinema as much as for television.
Giles Gardner has over 20 years of experience working in fiction and documentary post production. Recent documentary work includes: ‘Inna de Yard’ by Peter Webber (Tribeca / IDFA); ‘Winnie’ by Pascale Lamche (Sundance World documentary prize); ‘A Thousand Girls Like Me’ by Sahra Mani (Hotdocs / Full Frame, best doc award). Regularly participating as an editing tutor at CloseUp and Dok Incubator, he lives in Paris with dual British / French nationality.
Emmanuel Guimier – Director of photography : Cameraman, photographer, also known for the Making of he makes on series and features films for Netflix, Gaumont, Pathé, etc.
Christian Volckman - Storyboard Artist and Illustrator : Director and painter, Christian Volckman graduated from the Ecole Supérieur d’Arts Graphiques in Paris. He is mainly known for his motion capture animation feature film Renaissance, his other feature The room, as well as his short animated film Maaz who won 30 prizes.
Séverine Cappa – Line producer : For over 20 years, Severine Cappa has worked on many documentaries produced by companies like Gedeon Programmes, Studio FTV, La compagnie des Taxi-Broussse, Harbor Films and many others.

Contact

hmarinjones@icloud.com
Abelart Productions

165 Quai de Valmy
75010 Paris
France
Many thanks for all those that contributed to the crowdfunding :

Johanna & Vitch Coles, Katya & Durja Mijatovic, Melissa & Tom Pence, Cynthia & Wayne Boich, Stéphen Schaurer, Sidonie Dumas, Sahir Erozan, Peter Bal, Stéphane Sperry, Christine Lamoureux, Luc Hardy, Harry Mays, Stacy Ferguson, Myiti Sengstacke, Véronique et Marc Kapustin, Christophe Bourgois, Edward Marin, Dominique Guerin, Rita Adady, Dijana Molina, Caroline DaVanessa Van Zuylen, Tallal Shakarchi, Jean-Laurent Petit, Gabriel Ross, Kirk Sykes, David Knall and all the others.