Linda Ronstadt’s special cultural journey is going global…

Linda and the Mockingbirds, a documentary about the 74-year-old Grammy-winning singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member’s journey to Mexico to explore her family history and musical roots south of the border, has been picked up for worldwide rights by Shout! Studios, the distribution and production division of the Shout! Factory home video company.

The film was originally scheduled to premiere at the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend.

Shout! Plans to release the documentary later this year via various distribution platforms.

In a follow-up to last year’s highly acclaimed Ronstadt documentary The Sound of My Voice, Linda and the Mockingbirds narrows in on a road trip taken by Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and a group of younger musicians to the Mexican town of Banámichi in the state of Sonora, the birthplace of Ronstadt’s beloved grandfather.

The film is said to deal with border politics, racism and other personal or hot-button topics affecting Ronstadt’s and Browne’s companions on the trip: the instructors and students of Los Cenzontles, a school and studio based in San Pablo, California dedicated to the promotion of Mexican roots music.

The documentary was directed and produced by actor-turned-filmmaker James Keach, who also produced Sound of My Voice.

“It has been an honor to create a second documentary with Linda Ronstadt, whom I love and admire,” Keach said in a statement. “Crossing the border on this musical journey to Mexico with Linda, Jackson Browne and the young musicians of Los Cenzontles opened the minds and hearts of all of us working on the film. I hope it will open the minds and hearts of everyone who sees it.”

It was Ronstadt’s request that Keach embark on making a second film that would focus on her relationship with the Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy.

Ronstadt has been known for her associations with Mexican music ever since she interrupted her pop career in 1987 to release Canciones De Mi Padre, a labor of love that unexpectedly became a commercial success and was certified double-platinum.

“The film beautifully blends multiple stories, focusing on Linda Ronstadt’s Mexican-American roots, celebrating the music and culture of Mexico and offering a passionate and personal story about immigration,” said Shout!’s Jeffrey Peisch.