Being Hipp: A film by Anna Schmidt

A film about music, courage – and the disappearance of a legend: The untold story of Europe’s first lady of jazz.

Director Anna Schmidt has been awarded with the German Jazz Prize 2026 (Deutscher Jazzpreis for "Journalistic Achievement") for her new film BEING HIPP: "Her works are characterized by emotional depth, artistic precision, and a special closeness to music. With Being Hipp – First Lady of European Jazz she turns to jazz pioneer Jutta Hipp, creating a multi-layered portrait between international success, exclusion, and self-determination. The film combines personal memories, archival material, and voices from the jazz scene into a compelling image of an extraordinary artist."

Who was Jutta Hipp? A brilliant jazz pianist from Germany, she defied the odds and made it to the heart of the male-dominated jazz scene in 1950s New York. She was the first white woman ever signed to Blue Note Records. A rising star, celebrated by the press, admired by fellow musicians — and then: silence. Just a few years into her American career, Jutta Hipp walked away from it all. She never touched a piano again. She took a job in a sewing factory in Queens and disappeared from the public eye. What happened? And why did one of the most intriguing figures in jazz history vanish so quietly?

Told with lyrical imagery, powerful music, and deep humanity, BEING HIPP is a tribute to a woman who never tried to please — and in doing so, became a legend.

Genre Documentary
Production year 2026
Duration HD
Duration 55'
Production Company schmidtFilms, MDR, BR, arte
TV Director Anna Schmidt
Distribution TV EuroArts Music International
Main Actor With legendary jazz icons like David Amram, Lou Donaldson, and Sheila Jordan
Main Actor With her biographer Ilona Haberkamp, rising star Clara Haberkamp, and Harvard professor Ingrid Monson
Distribution VOD / SVOD EuroArts Music International
Distribution homevideo / DVD EuroArts Music International