The Bayou Maharajah himself: James Booker. (photo by Henry Horenstein) “…His music pushes the boundaries of what is possible on the piano with an intricacy that surpasses Chopin. It was this complexity that attracted me to Booker. I needed to find out how a man could be both barely tolerated and completely loved – and how his music might make that possible.” ––Lily Keber, Director’s Statement  Bayou Maharajah , a film by director Lily Keber and producer Nathaniel Kohn on the life of the late New Orleans genius of jazz James Carroll Booker III made its Savannah, Georgia, debut before a full audience at the Telfair Museum’s Jepson Center for the Arts on December 19, 2013. Keber’s exceptional accomplishment in Bayou Maharajah has been acknowledged with several important awards. Among them are: the Oxford American’s Best Southern Film Award, and both the Audience Award and Special Jury Mention for a Louisiana Feature at the New Orleans Film Festival.