New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2024 - Go To Izzy!

Go to Izzy – Magnus Sjostrom (Visby, Gotland, Sweden)

This documentary tells the story of Izzy Young, a man that came to play a very special role during the folk music revival in New York City in the early 1960's. His store, the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, sold books, records, instruments, and anything related to folk music. But it was more than a store. It was a meeting place, a classroom, a stage, and the home for the poets and folk musicians in the Village. Here, young and talented artists not yet with a record deal, such as Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Tim Buckley and Patti Smith, got a chance to perform, to learn, and to grow. And when Izzy Young took under his wings a newly arrived to town folk singer from Minnesota - Bob Dylan - and later organized his first official concert, Izzy was promoted to the role of a kingmaker. In 1973, Izzy Young suddenly decided to move to Sweden, where he started a similar shop and continued his mission to promote and preserve folk music and culture, both American and Swedish. This film - Go to Izzy! - follows Izzy Young during the last few years of his life. 2024; 59 min.