Editor’s note: If you have watched the Netflix docu The Greatest Night in Pop, you saw the 40 biggest singers of the ’80s break into a spontaneous chorus of “Day-o” in tribute to Harry Belafonte for organizing the “We Are the World” global fundraiser that raised over $60 million to save starving, famine-stricken African families. So you understand why the late singer/activist/actor’s daughters were disappointed when an In Memoriam segment on the Grammys flashed his photo but omitted him from a special section honoring the giants. Here, daughter Shari reminds why her father meant so much to the world, and music.
Related: Harry Belafonte Dies: Actor, Singer & Civil Rights Icon Was 96
Being a woman of color and having been in the entertainment business literally All of my life, I’ve witnessed and have been exposed to many instances of what one would call “unjustified treatment.” But, don’t...
Related: Harry Belafonte Dies: Actor, Singer & Civil Rights Icon Was 96
Being a woman of color and having been in the entertainment business literally All of my life, I’ve witnessed and have been exposed to many instances of what one would call “unjustified treatment.” But, don’t...
- 2/9/2024
- by Shari Belafonte
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a fascinating and complicated time to be an Afropop lover, with so many people outside of Africa joining the ranks. Consider Afrobeats, a broad subgenre under the even broader umbrella of African pop, which earned 2.5 billion streams by the midpoint of 2023, per Luminate, an entertainment analytics company. That represented a 34 percent jump in streams over the year before. All of this newfound attention has made for great music, collaborations, and Irl spaces to jam — from Atlanta to Amsterdam to Abuja — but has also raised concerns around ownership, opportunities,...
- 1/30/2024
- by Mankaprr Conteh
- Rollingstone.com
Mbongeni Ngema, a distinguished South African musician and creator of the musical “Sarafina!,” died on Wednesday in a car accident. He was 68.
“Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral he was attending in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape this evening,” his family said in a statement to the Associated Press. It is understood that he was a passenger in the car.
A playwright, producer and composer, he is best known for creating the 1987 stage musical “Sarafina!,” which tells the tale of a student woman who sees her teacher sent to jail and inspires other to fight against the racial segregation system known as apartheid. In 1981, he also created “Woza Albert,” a satirical stage drama in which Jesus Christ returns to Earth as a black South African.
“Sarafina!,” with lyrics co-written by Hugh Masekela, first opened at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg with Leleti Khumalo in the title role.
“Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral he was attending in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape this evening,” his family said in a statement to the Associated Press. It is understood that he was a passenger in the car.
A playwright, producer and composer, he is best known for creating the 1987 stage musical “Sarafina!,” which tells the tale of a student woman who sees her teacher sent to jail and inspires other to fight against the racial segregation system known as apartheid. In 1981, he also created “Woza Albert,” a satirical stage drama in which Jesus Christ returns to Earth as a black South African.
“Sarafina!,” with lyrics co-written by Hugh Masekela, first opened at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg with Leleti Khumalo in the title role.
- 12/28/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is performing its annual show at Manhattan’s City Center with exciting new pieces – including Alonzo King‘s 2001 Following the Subtle Current Upstream in the works.
The performance delves into the profound connections that exist between Western and Eastern classical art forms, fundamental elements, the wonders of the natural world and the essence of the human spirit.
Termed by King as a work centered on the rediscovery of joy, Following the Subtle Current Upstream reflects the vibrant ebb and flow of life and serves as a poignant reminder that all elements of nature yearn to return to their origins.
King’s choreography, both abstract and imbued with profound significance, guides the dancers through a continuous stream of movement, accompanied by an eclectic blend of compositions by Zakir Hussain, Miguel Frasconi and Miriam Makeba.
In the past, King emphasized the universal search for permanent joy.
He said,...
The performance delves into the profound connections that exist between Western and Eastern classical art forms, fundamental elements, the wonders of the natural world and the essence of the human spirit.
Termed by King as a work centered on the rediscovery of joy, Following the Subtle Current Upstream reflects the vibrant ebb and flow of life and serves as a poignant reminder that all elements of nature yearn to return to their origins.
King’s choreography, both abstract and imbued with profound significance, guides the dancers through a continuous stream of movement, accompanied by an eclectic blend of compositions by Zakir Hussain, Miguel Frasconi and Miriam Makeba.
In the past, King emphasized the universal search for permanent joy.
He said,...
- 12/16/2023
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Paul Simon wanted a documentary. He was a fan of Alex Gibney’s 2015 “Sinatra: All or Nothing at All” and asked the Oscar-winner (“Taxi to the Dark Side”) to consider devoting a documentary to him on the occasion of recording his 15th album, “Seven Psalms”.
The result is “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon,” which had its world premiere as an all-rights sales title at the Toronto International Film Festival. It has a running time of three and a half hours. However, the capacity audience at the Princess of Wales theater didn’t fidget and gave Simon a rousing standing ovation. On stage, he admitted that he didn’t have the courage to watch the film in the theater, and asked if he got a standing ovation. The crowd jumped up for a second time. “And it’s my birthday,” he joked. (It’s actually October 13.)
Going in,...
The result is “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon,” which had its world premiere as an all-rights sales title at the Toronto International Film Festival. It has a running time of three and a half hours. However, the capacity audience at the Princess of Wales theater didn’t fidget and gave Simon a rousing standing ovation. On stage, he admitted that he didn’t have the courage to watch the film in the theater, and asked if he got a standing ovation. The crowd jumped up for a second time. “And it’s my birthday,” he joked. (It’s actually October 13.)
Going in,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
John Lennon discussed Paul & Paula’s “Hey Paula” and several other songs on an episode of a famous television show. In his typical fashion, the “Imagine” singer proved hard to please. However, he didn’t attack every song played on the show.
John Lennon discussed Paul & Paula’s ‘Hey Paula’ and 1 Elvis Presley song on TV
According to Salon, John appeared on an episode of the show Juke Box Jury in 1963. The show was about judging new pop songs. While The Beatles had hits before John’s appearance on Juke Box Jury, the episode helped the band gain more notoriety.
On the show, John was asked to judge Elvis Presley’s “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise,” Tom Glazer’s “On Top of Spaghetti,” Julie Grant’s “Don’t Ever Let Me Down,” Miriam Makeba’s “The Click Song,” and Paul & Paula’s “First Quarrel.”
While discussing “First Quarrel,” John...
John Lennon discussed Paul & Paula’s ‘Hey Paula’ and 1 Elvis Presley song on TV
According to Salon, John appeared on an episode of the show Juke Box Jury in 1963. The show was about judging new pop songs. While The Beatles had hits before John’s appearance on Juke Box Jury, the episode helped the band gain more notoriety.
On the show, John was asked to judge Elvis Presley’s “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise,” Tom Glazer’s “On Top of Spaghetti,” Julie Grant’s “Don’t Ever Let Me Down,” Miriam Makeba’s “The Click Song,” and Paul & Paula’s “First Quarrel.”
While discussing “First Quarrel,” John...
- 9/5/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
It sometimes feels like every rock star once publicly trashed another musician’s work. For example, John Lennon criticized “On Top of Spaghetti” on a show about pop music. During his appearance on the show, he also attacked a famous Elvis Presley song. It’s surprising John had so many negative things to say about a beloved kid’s song.
John Lennon compared ‘On Top of Spaghetti’ to ‘a coach trip’
According to Salon, John appeared on the show Juke Box Jury in 1963. Juke Box Jury was a show where judges reviewed new pop singles. During John’s appearance, he dismissed every pop single discussed, including Elvis Presley’s “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise,” Julie Grant’s “Don’t Ever Let Me Down,” Paul & Paula’s “First Quarrel,” Miriam Makeba’s “The Click Song,” and Tom Glazer’s “On Top of Spaghetti.” For context, the latter is based on...
John Lennon compared ‘On Top of Spaghetti’ to ‘a coach trip’
According to Salon, John appeared on the show Juke Box Jury in 1963. Juke Box Jury was a show where judges reviewed new pop singles. During John’s appearance, he dismissed every pop single discussed, including Elvis Presley’s “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise,” Julie Grant’s “Don’t Ever Let Me Down,” Paul & Paula’s “First Quarrel,” Miriam Makeba’s “The Click Song,” and Tom Glazer’s “On Top of Spaghetti.” For context, the latter is based on...
- 9/5/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Exclusive: South Africa’s Videovision Entertainment is heading to next week’s Mip Africa event with a new TV sales division.
The unit will bring a significant number of titles from South Africa, comprising over 100 feature films and more than 10,000 hours of television programs. Videovision is one the country’s oldest and most successful production houses.
Videovision’s CEO Anant Singh has secured a deal to represent e.tv’s daily soap House of Zwide, which the company produces. Other Videovision titles produced over the past four decades will also be included on the slate, with notable features include Sarafina!, starring Leleti Khumalo, Whoopi Goldberg and Miriam Makeba; Cry, the Beloved Country starring James Earl Jones, Richard Harris and Vusi Kunene; Red Dust starring Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor and directed by Tom Hooper; and Yesterday, which received South Africa’s first Academy Award nomination.
See a trailer for the slate here.
The unit will bring a significant number of titles from South Africa, comprising over 100 feature films and more than 10,000 hours of television programs. Videovision is one the country’s oldest and most successful production houses.
Videovision’s CEO Anant Singh has secured a deal to represent e.tv’s daily soap House of Zwide, which the company produces. Other Videovision titles produced over the past four decades will also be included on the slate, with notable features include Sarafina!, starring Leleti Khumalo, Whoopi Goldberg and Miriam Makeba; Cry, the Beloved Country starring James Earl Jones, Richard Harris and Vusi Kunene; Red Dust starring Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor and directed by Tom Hooper; and Yesterday, which received South Africa’s first Academy Award nomination.
See a trailer for the slate here.
- 9/1/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
TF1 Studio/ Newen Connect has picked up international sales rights to “Sarafina!,” the iconic South African musical-dance-drama that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992.
“Sarafina!” was the first major film to be made in South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela from his 27-year prison term. The film tells of the strength of the young women who made their mark during South Africa’s long journey to freedom.
A restored version of the film will play in the Cannes Classics section this Sunday. It is a digitally remastered ‘producer’s cut’ which was created in partnership with Imax and includes never-seen-before footage.
The film was produced by Anant Singh through his Videovision Entertainment and directed by Darrel James Roodt from a screenplay by Mbongeni Ngema and William Nicholson. It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba, Mbongeni Ngema, John Kani and Somizi Mhlongo.
“ ‘Sarafina!’ is as entertaining and...
“Sarafina!” was the first major film to be made in South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela from his 27-year prison term. The film tells of the strength of the young women who made their mark during South Africa’s long journey to freedom.
A restored version of the film will play in the Cannes Classics section this Sunday. It is a digitally remastered ‘producer’s cut’ which was created in partnership with Imax and includes never-seen-before footage.
The film was produced by Anant Singh through his Videovision Entertainment and directed by Darrel James Roodt from a screenplay by Mbongeni Ngema and William Nicholson. It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba, Mbongeni Ngema, John Kani and Somizi Mhlongo.
“ ‘Sarafina!’ is as entertaining and...
- 5/19/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Harry Belafonte, the actor, singer and civil rights trailblazer, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home, with his wife Pamela by his side. He was 96.
Belafonte is considered among the most successful Caribbean-American music stars of all time and one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood, making a name for himself during the 1950s and ’60s. An activist and social campaigner by nature, he was an early supporter of the Civil Rights movement and became a major figure in the American social and political history of the 20th century.
He was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and backed many historic political and social causes and events, including the anti-apartheid movement, equal rights for women, juvenile justice, climate change and the decolonization of Africa. He was one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, leading a delegation of Hollywood including best friend Sidney Poitier,...
Belafonte is considered among the most successful Caribbean-American music stars of all time and one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood, making a name for himself during the 1950s and ’60s. An activist and social campaigner by nature, he was an early supporter of the Civil Rights movement and became a major figure in the American social and political history of the 20th century.
He was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and backed many historic political and social causes and events, including the anti-apartheid movement, equal rights for women, juvenile justice, climate change and the decolonization of Africa. He was one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, leading a delegation of Hollywood including best friend Sidney Poitier,...
- 4/25/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Singer, actor, producer and activist Harry Belafonte, who spawned a calypso craze in the U.S. with his music and blazed new trails for African-American performers, has died of congestive heart failure at his Manhattan home. He was 96.
An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the lithe, handsome Belafonte became one of the first black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics.
As his career stretched into the new millennium, his commitment to social causes never took a back seat to his professional work.
An intimate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was an important voice in the ’60s civil rights movement, and he later embarked on charitable activities on behalf of underdeveloped African nations. He was an outspoken opponent of South Africa’s apartheid policies.
Belafonte was set to receive the Motion Picture...
An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the lithe, handsome Belafonte became one of the first black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics.
As his career stretched into the new millennium, his commitment to social causes never took a back seat to his professional work.
An intimate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was an important voice in the ’60s civil rights movement, and he later embarked on charitable activities on behalf of underdeveloped African nations. He was an outspoken opponent of South Africa’s apartheid policies.
Belafonte was set to receive the Motion Picture...
- 4/25/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Harry Belafonte, the pioneering Calypso singer, actor, and civil rights leader, has died at the age of 96.
According to The New York Times, Belafonte passed away on Tuesday from congestive heart failure.
Born on March 1st, 1927 in Harlem, New York to Jamaican-American parents, Harold Bellanfanti, Jr. served in the Navy in World War II before becoming enamored with the stage while attending shows at the American Negro Theater with close friend Sidney Poitier. Eventually, he began performing at the venue after taking acting classes at The New School and won a Tony Award for the 1953 musical revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.
Belafonte began his musical career performing in nightclubs as a way to afford his acting classes. In 1953, he signed a recording contract with RCA Victor and released his debut single, “Matilda,” ahead of his breakthrough album Calypso. The 1956 LP topped the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks and spawned...
According to The New York Times, Belafonte passed away on Tuesday from congestive heart failure.
Born on March 1st, 1927 in Harlem, New York to Jamaican-American parents, Harold Bellanfanti, Jr. served in the Navy in World War II before becoming enamored with the stage while attending shows at the American Negro Theater with close friend Sidney Poitier. Eventually, he began performing at the venue after taking acting classes at The New School and won a Tony Award for the 1953 musical revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.
Belafonte began his musical career performing in nightclubs as a way to afford his acting classes. In 1953, he signed a recording contract with RCA Victor and released his debut single, “Matilda,” ahead of his breakthrough album Calypso. The 1956 LP topped the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks and spawned...
- 4/25/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo returned to her home country Bénin last week to meet children and young people impacted by the spillover of violence from the Sahel crisis and climate change in the region.
The deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Niger, as well as rising food prices as a result of climate induced shocks, are affecting access to essential social services for children, refugees, and internally displaced persons in northern Benin. In some border areas with Sahel countries, a number of schools have been temporarily closed, malnutrition in children under five has risen, while some health centers are facing challenges with maintaining operations. Local social welfare authorities have reported increases in domestic violence, gender-based violence, and violence against children.
“The northern part of my country has always had a special place in my heart,” said Angélique Kidjo. “These are remote areas where commodities are scarce. Yet,...
The deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Niger, as well as rising food prices as a result of climate induced shocks, are affecting access to essential social services for children, refugees, and internally displaced persons in northern Benin. In some border areas with Sahel countries, a number of schools have been temporarily closed, malnutrition in children under five has risen, while some health centers are facing challenges with maintaining operations. Local social welfare authorities have reported increases in domestic violence, gender-based violence, and violence against children.
“The northern part of my country has always had a special place in my heart,” said Angélique Kidjo. “These are remote areas where commodities are scarce. Yet,...
- 12/21/2022
- Look to the Stars
For this year’s Icons & Influences issue, we asked 10 artists to pay tribute to the women who have shaped their sound, provided an example, and inspired them to break down barriers. Benin-born singer Angélique Kidjo remembers her “musical mother,” the late South African artist-activist Miriam Makeba.
The first time I sang Miriam’s music was when my mom and her friends would gather to campaign for women’s rights. They transformed one of her songs — it was “The Retreat Song (Jikele Maweni)” — into their anthem, and they put lyrics in my father tongue,...
The first time I sang Miriam’s music was when my mom and her friends would gather to campaign for women’s rights. They transformed one of her songs — it was “The Retreat Song (Jikele Maweni)” — into their anthem, and they put lyrics in my father tongue,...
- 3/4/2022
- by Julyssa Lopez
- Rollingstone.com
Motown founder Berry Gordy had a galaxy of star executives helping him build the company into the powerhouse it became, but not many of them shone as brightly as Suzanne de Passe.
Joining the company relatively late in its heyday, de Passe moved from her native Harlem to Detroit in 1968 and soon convinced a skeptical Berry to sign a group of kids calling themselves the Jackson 5. She quickly took charge of developing the group into the pop-culture juggernaut they immediately became — their first four singles went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — developing their live show, imaging, choreography, television appearances and much more. Her next signing? An R&b combo called the Commodores featuring a young singer named Lionel Richie.
After being named the company’s West Coast head of A&R she went on to work with Rick James and others, while gradually transitioning into her main career: as a TV and film executive,...
Joining the company relatively late in its heyday, de Passe moved from her native Harlem to Detroit in 1968 and soon convinced a skeptical Berry to sign a group of kids calling themselves the Jackson 5. She quickly took charge of developing the group into the pop-culture juggernaut they immediately became — their first four singles went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — developing their live show, imaging, choreography, television appearances and much more. Her next signing? An R&b combo called the Commodores featuring a young singer named Lionel Richie.
After being named the company’s West Coast head of A&R she went on to work with Rick James and others, while gradually transitioning into her main career: as a TV and film executive,...
- 2/11/2022
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
From the Venice Film Festival to the Met Gala, the Emmys to training for a half marathon, Cynthia Erivo manages to find moments of pause in her jam-packed schedule. While blurs of kinetic energy roil around her, the London-born multi-hyphenate sits serene at the center.
“Sometimes I’ll get a nice couple of hours of sleep on the plane,” she laughs. “But I’m not very good at doing that.” Only an Oscar away from an Egot, it’s hard to argue with the results, as Erivo has quickly made a name for herself not only on the Broadway Stage, but on film and television as well. She’s even set to release a children’s book entitled “Remember to Dream, Ebere.”
While we get to know a bit of Erivo in every role she takes on, her new album — her debut of songs she has co-written — further highlights the artist at the core.
“Sometimes I’ll get a nice couple of hours of sleep on the plane,” she laughs. “But I’m not very good at doing that.” Only an Oscar away from an Egot, it’s hard to argue with the results, as Erivo has quickly made a name for herself not only on the Broadway Stage, but on film and television as well. She’s even set to release a children’s book entitled “Remember to Dream, Ebere.”
While we get to know a bit of Erivo in every role she takes on, her new album — her debut of songs she has co-written — further highlights the artist at the core.
- 9/21/2021
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
For Berlin-based Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, traveling to Algeria in 2019 to visit his father’s homeland became an emotional journey that not only resulted in his latest work, the Cannes title “Mariner of the Mountains,” but also the documentary “Nardjes A.,” which premiered last year in Berlin.
“Mariner of the Mountains,” which unspools in Special Screenings Friday, is Aïnouz’s most personal film since one of his earliest works, the 1993 short “Seams,” about his grandmother and her four sisters, “which was kind of the seeds of this film,” the director tells Variety.
Aïnouz grew up in the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza, where he was raised by his mother and grandmother. Although he didn’t meet his estranged father until he was 18, he had long been fascinated by Algeria.
“It’s something that was there for me from the beginning,” he says. His image of Algeria had been a romanticized idea of the revolution,...
“Mariner of the Mountains,” which unspools in Special Screenings Friday, is Aïnouz’s most personal film since one of his earliest works, the 1993 short “Seams,” about his grandmother and her four sisters, “which was kind of the seeds of this film,” the director tells Variety.
Aïnouz grew up in the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza, where he was raised by his mother and grandmother. Although he didn’t meet his estranged father until he was 18, he had long been fascinated by Algeria.
“It’s something that was there for me from the beginning,” he says. His image of Algeria had been a romanticized idea of the revolution,...
- 7/8/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
One day in 1992, Angélique Kidjo walked into a magazine editor’s office and found herself being introduced over the phone to one of her all-time favorite artists.
“Someone said, ‘Mrs. Kidjo, Mr. Brown wants to talk to you,’” she recalls. In stunned disbelief, she replied, “Yeah, and I’m Mother Teresa.” But it really was James Brown, the Godfather of Soul himself, asking to talk to her.
“I almost dropped the phone,” she continues. “He was speaking, and I couldn’t understand, so I started singing. He picked up the...
“Someone said, ‘Mrs. Kidjo, Mr. Brown wants to talk to you,’” she recalls. In stunned disbelief, she replied, “Yeah, and I’m Mother Teresa.” But it really was James Brown, the Godfather of Soul himself, asking to talk to her.
“I almost dropped the phone,” she continues. “He was speaking, and I couldn’t understand, so I started singing. He picked up the...
- 5/21/2021
- by Shamira Ibrahim
- Rollingstone.com
In September of 2008, an unusual performance took place at downtown New York club Le Poisson Rouge. At stage right, opposite fellow six-string adventurer Marc Ribot, sat Lou Reed, conjuring clouds of free-rock energy from his guitar. Behind them, avant-garde mainstay John Zorn sent forth piercing, impassioned blasts of alto sax. And at the center of it all, churning with the fury of a whirlpool and dancing across his hand-painted drum kit with the control and flair of a flamenco master, was Milford Graves — the percussionist, healer, and interdisciplinary seeker who...
- 2/13/2021
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
There are seven episodes in “Lost Notes: 1980,” the latest season of the Kcrw podcast series looking at the stories behind songs and artists that range from household names to less familiar figures and moments in the music world. All seven of these latest chapters, hosted by writer and poet Hanif Abdurraqib, were released at the same time.
Aside from giving the chance for listeners of the show to experience these stories from four decades past in full, Abdurraqib explains that dropping the whole season at once came from a desire for the season to have a rhythm and shape akin to an album.
“We kind of agonized over the order,” Abdurraqib told IndieWire. “I assume people will listen to the whatever one interests them first. But there are some that create bridges between each other. The Minnie Riperton one flows kind of seamlessly with the Grace Jones one — Disco Demolition...
Aside from giving the chance for listeners of the show to experience these stories from four decades past in full, Abdurraqib explains that dropping the whole season at once came from a desire for the season to have a rhythm and shape akin to an album.
“We kind of agonized over the order,” Abdurraqib told IndieWire. “I assume people will listen to the whatever one interests them first. But there are some that create bridges between each other. The Minnie Riperton one flows kind of seamlessly with the Grace Jones one — Disco Demolition...
- 9/25/2020
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
The photo on the cover of Bob Dylan’s upcoming LP, Rough and Rowdy Ways, was snapped more than 50 years ago by a man who is, admittedly, not all that familiar with the musician.
“Like most photographers, I’m a visual guy,” 86-year-old photographer Ian Berry tells Rolling Stone via phone from his home in Salisbury, England. “I have, though, spent quite a lot of time with people like Miriam Makeba, but most of the profiles I’ve done on musicians have been more classical, people like [David] Ashkenazi.”
Still, when...
“Like most photographers, I’m a visual guy,” 86-year-old photographer Ian Berry tells Rolling Stone via phone from his home in Salisbury, England. “I have, though, spent quite a lot of time with people like Miriam Makeba, but most of the profiles I’ve done on musicians have been more classical, people like [David] Ashkenazi.”
Still, when...
- 5/11/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Once called the “world’s most defiantly joyful song”, Miriam Makeba’s ‘Pata Pata’ has been rerecorded by Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo, to spread information and hope in a time of Coronavirus.
Without any alteration to chords or syllables, though with several changes to the lyrics, ‘Pata Pata’ will be rereleased by Unicef across the globe this Thursday, more than 50 years since the international smash hit first took the world by storm. It does so with full copyright approval.
Nicknamed ‘Mama Africa’, Miriam Makeba was a South African singer and songwriter. She was a United Nations goodwill ambassador who worked on hunger, HIV and domestic violence, as well as a civil rights activist. Makeba was among the first African musicians to receive worldwide recognition, winning a Grammy in 1965, performing from Johannesburg to New York; Lagos to London. She was both a friend and a mentor to Kidjo.
‘Pata Pata...
Without any alteration to chords or syllables, though with several changes to the lyrics, ‘Pata Pata’ will be rereleased by Unicef across the globe this Thursday, more than 50 years since the international smash hit first took the world by storm. It does so with full copyright approval.
Nicknamed ‘Mama Africa’, Miriam Makeba was a South African singer and songwriter. She was a United Nations goodwill ambassador who worked on hunger, HIV and domestic violence, as well as a civil rights activist. Makeba was among the first African musicians to receive worldwide recognition, winning a Grammy in 1965, performing from Johannesburg to New York; Lagos to London. She was both a friend and a mentor to Kidjo.
‘Pata Pata...
- 4/28/2020
- Look to the Stars
Today, we celebrate the birthday of Hugh Masekela, popularly known as Father of South African Jazz. He was also one of the leading personalities not only in the field of music but also in politics too. He was a leading activist during his country?s rule under the repressive apartheid government. Hugh was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and singer.?
His main inspiration for taking up the trump came from the film?Young Man With a Horn. Later encouraged by activist Father Trevor Huddleston
Unfortunately, the legend left us on 23 January 2018?at the age of 78. Masekela was born in the town of Witbank on April 4 1939. He was associated with various artist like Miriam Makeba, Paul Simo, Selema?Masekela, Barbara Maskela, Earl Sweatshirt.
Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring him back home". He also had a number one Us?...
His main inspiration for taking up the trump came from the film?Young Man With a Horn. Later encouraged by activist Father Trevor Huddleston
Unfortunately, the legend left us on 23 January 2018?at the age of 78. Masekela was born in the town of Witbank on April 4 1939. He was associated with various artist like Miriam Makeba, Paul Simo, Selema?Masekela, Barbara Maskela, Earl Sweatshirt.
Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring him back home". He also had a number one Us?...
- 4/4/2019
- GlamSham
It’s a chilly October night, yet Jain has packed the mid-sized Brooklyn venue Warsaw with a mix of New Yorkers and visitors from her native France. Over there, she’s a phenomenon: Her 2015 debut, Zanaka, which blends pop with Afrobeat, is certified diamond, and her follow-up, this year’s Souldier, hit Number One on the country’s albums chart. The 26-year-old regularly plays multiple nights at venues like Paris’ historic Olympia and Marseilles’ Le Moulin, and she’s opened for Seal and Christine and the Queens. Here, though, it...
- 12/21/2018
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
When We Were Kings, the Oscar-winning documentary about Muhammed Ali and George Foreman’s legendary “Rumble in the Jungle,” is being adapted into a Broadway musical.
Held in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1974, the Rumble in the Jungle remains one of the most famous boxing bouts of all time with Ali knocking out Foreman, who was up until then the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. Leon Gast directed When We Were Kings, which was released in 1996 and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
When We Were Kings...
Held in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1974, the Rumble in the Jungle remains one of the most famous boxing bouts of all time with Ali knocking out Foreman, who was up until then the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. Leon Gast directed When We Were Kings, which was released in 1996 and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
When We Were Kings...
- 11/29/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Could Muhammad Ali be headed to Broadway? Producer David Sonenberg is developing a musical stage adaptation of the 1996, Oscar-winning documentary “When We Were Kings,” it was announced Thursday.
“When We Were Kings” documents the legendary 1974 fight between Ali and George Foreman, better known as “The Rumble in the Jungle,” that was held in Zaire, Africa. Sonenberg, who executive produced the documentary directed by Leon Gast, is now bringing it to the stage with a workshop scheduled for spring 2019 and plans for a full stage musical production the following year.
The book for the musical is adapted from the film and is written by Shelley Marcus. The songs for the musical are R&B classics from the 1974 Zaire music festival, with the exception of “Rumble In The Jungle,” which was written by The Fugees for the film.
Also Read: CBS All Access Nabs Muhammad Ali Limited Series From Morgan Freeman
The...
“When We Were Kings” documents the legendary 1974 fight between Ali and George Foreman, better known as “The Rumble in the Jungle,” that was held in Zaire, Africa. Sonenberg, who executive produced the documentary directed by Leon Gast, is now bringing it to the stage with a workshop scheduled for spring 2019 and plans for a full stage musical production the following year.
The book for the musical is adapted from the film and is written by Shelley Marcus. The songs for the musical are R&B classics from the 1974 Zaire music festival, with the exception of “Rumble In The Jungle,” which was written by The Fugees for the film.
Also Read: CBS All Access Nabs Muhammad Ali Limited Series From Morgan Freeman
The...
- 11/29/2018
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The story of Miriam Makeba, one of the most important voices in South Africa's transformation from apartheid to the presidency of Nelson Mandela, is being turned into a feature film by Suzanne de Passe (Lady Sings The Blues) and Madison Jones of de Passe Jones Entertainment. Also producing is Broadway producer Willette Klausner, music producer David Franco and Makeba's former publicist and confidant Marc Le Chat. Makeba was Africa’s first Grammy winner, she recorded and…...
- 11/22/2016
- Deadline
For nearly half a century, Grammy-winning South African singer Miriam Makeba—known to fans as “Mama Africa”—traveled the world with powerful songs of joy, love, and revolution that have resonated in the hearts of people across the world. Against the disharmonious… Continue Reading →...
- 11/22/2016
- by shadowandact
- ShadowAndAct
We return with a look at Soul Power, enjoy!
From Masters of Cinema:
Soul Power is a vérité documentary – compiled entirely from footage shot in 1974 – of the astonishing back-to-Africa 3-day music festival “Zaire ‘74”. It was held in Kinshasa ahead of the biggest boxing event of all time: the Muhammad Ali–George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle”. Directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, editor of Leon Gast’s Oscar®-winning (Best Documentary) When We Were Kings, and sourced from the same archival pool, Soul Power features a legendary line-up of African and African-diaspora musicians – all of whom are at the very peak of their creative powers.
Alongside Ali’s wit and wisdom – profoundly lyrical in its own right – vibrant street scenes of downtown Kinshasa, and “fly-on-the-wall” footage of the festival’s staging, rehearsals, and jams, the three nights of concerts (lensed by Albert Maysles and a host of other legendary cameramen) offer electrifying performances by James Brown,...
From Masters of Cinema:
Soul Power is a vérité documentary – compiled entirely from footage shot in 1974 – of the astonishing back-to-Africa 3-day music festival “Zaire ‘74”. It was held in Kinshasa ahead of the biggest boxing event of all time: the Muhammad Ali–George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle”. Directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, editor of Leon Gast’s Oscar®-winning (Best Documentary) When We Were Kings, and sourced from the same archival pool, Soul Power features a legendary line-up of African and African-diaspora musicians – all of whom are at the very peak of their creative powers.
Alongside Ali’s wit and wisdom – profoundly lyrical in its own right – vibrant street scenes of downtown Kinshasa, and “fly-on-the-wall” footage of the festival’s staging, rehearsals, and jams, the three nights of concerts (lensed by Albert Maysles and a host of other legendary cameramen) offer electrifying performances by James Brown,...
- 7/22/2016
- by Tom Jennings
- CriterionCast
Marlon Brando in ‘A Dry White Season,’ James Earl Jones in ‘Cry the Beloved Country’: Apartheid movies (photo: Marlon Brando in ‘A Dry White Season’) (See previous post: “Nelson Mandela: Sidney Poitier and ‘Malcolm X’ Cameo Apperance.”) Besides the Nelson Mandela movies discussed in the previous two posts, South Africa’s apartheid has been portrayed in a number of films in the last few decades. Among the most notable ones are the following: Zoltan Korda’s Cry the Beloved Country (1951). Based on Alan Paton’s novel, this British-made film features Canada Lee and Charles Carson as two men struggling to deal with the disastrous consequences of apartheid. Ralph Nelson’s The Wilby Conspiracy (1975). Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine star as, respectively, an anti-apartheid South African activist and a British engineer on the run from South Africa’s secret police, headed by racist Nicol Williamson. Chris Menges’ A World Apart...
- 12/7/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Happy birthday, Douglas Adams! Today’s Google Doodle honors the brilliant sci-fi humorist who created The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the radio series-turned-novel that defined a certain uncanny mix of incredibly cynical outlandish farce — think Philip K. Dick meets Monty Python. (Hitchhiker’s begins with the destruction of Earth; things get worse from there.)
The Doodle prominently features the titular Guide — rendered here as something that looks eerily like an Amazon Kindle — and if you click on it, it’ll provide you with important notes, like how Earth is “Mostly Harmless.”
Adams, who died of a heart attack...
The Doodle prominently features the titular Guide — rendered here as something that looks eerily like an Amazon Kindle — and if you click on it, it’ll provide you with important notes, like how Earth is “Mostly Harmless.”
Adams, who died of a heart attack...
- 3/11/2013
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
Who runs the world? Girls!
Beyoncé may be exaggerating, but if there is any day worth busting out her ode to female empowerment, it’s International Women’s Day. Google Doodle took a break from celebrating the birthdays of athletes and artists to highlight the over-100-year-old holiday on its homepage.
Today’s celebration was originally meant to acknowledge and champion the advancement of women in the working world – particularly to draw attention to poor working conditions and low wages among women working in factories. The International Women’s Day website has a pretty great timeline of the causes the...
Beyoncé may be exaggerating, but if there is any day worth busting out her ode to female empowerment, it’s International Women’s Day. Google Doodle took a break from celebrating the birthdays of athletes and artists to highlight the over-100-year-old holiday on its homepage.
Today’s celebration was originally meant to acknowledge and champion the advancement of women in the working world – particularly to draw attention to poor working conditions and low wages among women working in factories. The International Women’s Day website has a pretty great timeline of the causes the...
- 3/8/2013
- by Erin Strecker
- EW.com - PopWatch
Today’s Google Doodle wants to get you ready to dance while celebrating what would have been the 81st birthday of singer and activist Miriam Makeba.
Known as “Mama Africa,” the South African popularized African music in the West over the course of her decades-long career. The Grammy winner also regularly spoke out against apartheid, leading South Africa to revoke her citizenship in 1960 for the next 30 years. In 1966 she became the first African to win a Grammy Award for her album with Harry Belafonte, An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba. She also notably – and controversially — joined Paul Simon on his Graceland...
Known as “Mama Africa,” the South African popularized African music in the West over the course of her decades-long career. The Grammy winner also regularly spoke out against apartheid, leading South Africa to revoke her citizenship in 1960 for the next 30 years. In 1966 she became the first African to win a Grammy Award for her album with Harry Belafonte, An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba. She also notably – and controversially — joined Paul Simon on his Graceland...
- 3/4/2013
- by Erin Strecker
- EW.com - PopWatch
Film Africa 2012 to showcase 70 films from across the continent, with this year's focus country being South Africa
There has never been a greater interest in African film. The Nigerian video film industry, Nollywood – now the second largest in the world after Bollywood in terms of number of films produced – has revolutionised film production and distribution on the continent.
Celebrating the best of these productions, the UK's largest annual festival of African cinema, Film Africa 2012, opened in London on Thursday night, offering 10 days of 70 African films, film-maker Q&As, professional workshops, and nine nights of African music.
With the African-born residents of London including 105,000 Nigerians, 80,000 South Africans, 53,000 Zimbabweans, 44,000 Somalis, 39,000 Ghanaians, 25,000 Libyans, 18,000 Mauritians, 15,000 Kenyans, and 12,000 Eritreans, it is the perfect place to host the festival.
Film Africa 2012 confronts issues that are not entirely specific to Africa, but that are explored from a uniquely African perspective. Africa is not a single, monolithic entity,...
There has never been a greater interest in African film. The Nigerian video film industry, Nollywood – now the second largest in the world after Bollywood in terms of number of films produced – has revolutionised film production and distribution on the continent.
Celebrating the best of these productions, the UK's largest annual festival of African cinema, Film Africa 2012, opened in London on Thursday night, offering 10 days of 70 African films, film-maker Q&As, professional workshops, and nine nights of African music.
With the African-born residents of London including 105,000 Nigerians, 80,000 South Africans, 53,000 Zimbabweans, 44,000 Somalis, 39,000 Ghanaians, 25,000 Libyans, 18,000 Mauritians, 15,000 Kenyans, and 12,000 Eritreans, it is the perfect place to host the festival.
Film Africa 2012 confronts issues that are not entirely specific to Africa, but that are explored from a uniquely African perspective. Africa is not a single, monolithic entity,...
- 11/2/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
The 1974 Zaire concert became a powerful documentary: its producers recall three magical days
Stewart Levine, festival promoter
I had been making records with Hugh Masekela since the early 1960s. We'd got this African-American hybrid going, and were always looking for ways to get more western exposure to African music: it really was the dark ages in awareness terms. When I saw George Foreman was fighting Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight boxing title in Zaire in 1974, my mind went boom: let's do a music festival and a film.
Hugh and I weren't just into soul, and we cast our net wide. We had the Fania All-Stars with Celia Cruz, and Miriam Makeba, as well as Bb King, James Brown, Bill Withers and the Spinners. The Spinners' manager was this funny little cat out of Philadelphia, a real sweetheart, and he said to me: "I've three girls who are gonna be great.
Stewart Levine, festival promoter
I had been making records with Hugh Masekela since the early 1960s. We'd got this African-American hybrid going, and were always looking for ways to get more western exposure to African music: it really was the dark ages in awareness terms. When I saw George Foreman was fighting Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight boxing title in Zaire in 1974, my mind went boom: let's do a music festival and a film.
Hugh and I weren't just into soul, and we cast our net wide. We had the Fania All-Stars with Celia Cruz, and Miriam Makeba, as well as Bb King, James Brown, Bill Withers and the Spinners. The Spinners' manager was this funny little cat out of Philadelphia, a real sweetheart, and he said to me: "I've three girls who are gonna be great.
- 9/3/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Singer to play in Hyde Park as part of anniversary celebrations likely to revive row over 1985 visit to South Africa
It was one of the most divisive shows in British pop history. On 7 April 1987, Paul Simon brought his best-selling Graceland project to the Royal Albert Hall in London for the first of six sold-out concerts.
On stage, he was joined by the cream of South African musicians, including Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but outside, leading British musicians joined people protesting that Simon had broken the Anc's cultural boycott of apartheid-era South Africa.
They included Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and Jerry Dammers, famous for writing one of the great anti-apartheid anthems, Nelson Mandela. They had delivered an angry letter to Simon, asking him to apologise.
Now, 25 years on, the Guardian can reveal that Paul Simon is reviving Graceland and returning to London for a concert in Hyde...
It was one of the most divisive shows in British pop history. On 7 April 1987, Paul Simon brought his best-selling Graceland project to the Royal Albert Hall in London for the first of six sold-out concerts.
On stage, he was joined by the cream of South African musicians, including Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but outside, leading British musicians joined people protesting that Simon had broken the Anc's cultural boycott of apartheid-era South Africa.
They included Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and Jerry Dammers, famous for writing one of the great anti-apartheid anthems, Nelson Mandela. They had delivered an angry letter to Simon, asking him to apologise.
Now, 25 years on, the Guardian can reveal that Paul Simon is reviving Graceland and returning to London for a concert in Hyde...
- 3/17/2012
- by Robin Denselow
- The Guardian - Film News
Does the culture make the artist, or does the artist make the culture? Two Sundance documentaries — Shut Up And Play the Hits, which follows James Murphy through the last concert of his band LCD Soundsystem in 2010, and Under African Skies, Joe Berlinger’s history of Paul Simon’s seminal Graceland – might seem to be unlikely bedfellows. Both films are brilliantly executed portraits of musicians walking the tightrope of cultural relevance and personal expression. The differences between the two stories illustrate fundamental changes in our popular culture over the last 30 years.
Both films seek to explore “a moment in time.” For Under African Skies, that’s 1986, the year Simon released his celebrated and controversial album Graceland. His prior album, Hearts & Bones had flopped, providing his first taste of anything but wild success since the ‘60s. “I felt liberated,” explains Simon, not having the record companies on his back expecting hits. “I...
Both films seek to explore “a moment in time.” For Under African Skies, that’s 1986, the year Simon released his celebrated and controversial album Graceland. His prior album, Hearts & Bones had flopped, providing his first taste of anything but wild success since the ‘60s. “I felt liberated,” explains Simon, not having the record companies on his back expecting hits. “I...
- 1/27/2012
- by Alicia Van Couvering
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
"The miracle of Lionel Rogosin's apartheid drama Come Back, Africa isn't that it's a solid, affecting artifact of a cruel society, but that it exists at all," begins Bill Weber in Slant. "In the wake of his debut film, the New York skid-row chronicle On the Bowery, Rogosin set out in 1957 for Johannesburg, and for months laid the groundwork for surreptitiously shooting a follow-up that would lay bare the pain and humiliations of black South Africans subjugated by the white majority, enlisting native writers Lewis Nkosi and Bloke Modisane to collaborate on the scenario. Mixing documentary-like footage with scripted scenes as he had in his first feature, the filmmaker heavily features music and dance by throngs of street performers, a diegetically captured salve for the wounds of extreme poverty and social oppression — and an ideal camouflage of his critical agenda from the South African authorities, who were persuaded that...
- 1/26/2012
- MUBI
Rediscover Lionel Rogosin's 1959 anti-apartheid masterpiece (which screened at Tff 2005) at Film Forum starting January 27. Miriam Makeba (Miriam) in the film Come Back, Africa. Behind Ms. Makeba from left to right: Morris Hugh, Zacharia Mgabi and Can Themba / courtesy Milestone Film and Video 'In South Africa when this film was made, you could not be buried in a cemetery unless you had the right papers. You could not live in a certain part of the city unless you had the right color. And you could not sleep with another person unless you were the same color. And it is that particular history that Lionel captured and it is a monument. Some monuments, like in your beautiful city, are carved in stone. And what you are proudly celebrating tonight is the fact that Lionel Rogosin was able to leave a monument in images of our history. Then, we were able ...
- 1/23/2012
- TribecaFilm.com
Jean-Marc Vallée's Café du Flore Chantal Akerman, Joseph Cedar, Béla Tarr, Nuri Bilge Ceylan: AFI Fest 2011 World Cinema Selections Arirang: Traumatized by a near-fatal accident during filming, director Kim Ki-duk offers a visionary self-portrait of a troubled artist reeling from an emotional breakdown. Dir Kim Ki-duk. South Korea. U.S. Premiere. CAFÉ Du Flore: In his follow-up to C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean Marc Vallée tells two parallel stories connected by music about a Montreal D.J. and a mother devoted to her special-needs son. Dir/Scr Jean-Marc Vallée. Cast Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent, Evelyne Brochu, Marin Gerrier. Canada. U.S. Premiere. Extraterrestrial: Timecrimes director Nacho Vigalondo’s surprising second feature finds an alien invasion providing the backdrop for one of the most delightful romantic comedies in years. Dir/Scr Nacho Vigalondo. Cast Julian Villagran, Michelle Jenner, Raul Cimas, Carlos Areces, Miguel Noguera. Spain. Faust: Russian Ark director...
- 10/23/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The 30th annual Vancouver International Film Festival (Viff) is starting to finally announce their roster of films with an outstanding line-up of documentaries that celebrate the power of cinema and the arts across the Dance, Music, Theatre and the Visual Arts mediums. Legendary filmmakers Wim Wenders , Frederick Wiseman, and Mike Figgis are among the talent presenting films at the festival this year which runs from September 29-October 14th. Here is a taste of what to expect so far:
Pina
Germany/France/UK | Director: Wim Wenders
One German master more than does justice to another as Wim Wenders fashions a kinetic and gorgeous tribute to the singular German choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch. “Entertainment that will send culture vultures swooning… the film lets the artist’s work speak for itself via big, juicy slabs of performance.” — Variety
Flamenco, Flamenco
Spain | Director: Carlos Saura
Carlos Saura continues to mine a rich vein...
Pina
Germany/France/UK | Director: Wim Wenders
One German master more than does justice to another as Wim Wenders fashions a kinetic and gorgeous tribute to the singular German choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch. “Entertainment that will send culture vultures swooning… the film lets the artist’s work speak for itself via big, juicy slabs of performance.” — Variety
Flamenco, Flamenco
Spain | Director: Carlos Saura
Carlos Saura continues to mine a rich vein...
- 8/18/2011
- by Gregory Ashman
- SoundOnSight
1959: Number 17 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of world and folk music
The feisty township singer Miriam Makeba was already a star in her native South Africa when she played a brief cameo in a controversial Us anti-apartheid film called Come Back, Africa. The docudrama was covertly filmed by the American director Lionel Rogosin under the noses of hostile authorities before being smuggled abroad, where it served as an early document of the iniquities of apartheid.
Makeba was both victim and beneficiary of this clandestine film. Furious South African authorities revoked her passport, forcing her to seek asylum in the Us, where Makeba quickly became a huge celebrity. She appeared on the Steve Allen show in November 1959, performed for the likes of Duke Ellington and Miles Davis at the Village Vanguard, hobnobbed with Marlon Brando, Harry Belafonte and Sammy Davis Jr and was even...
The feisty township singer Miriam Makeba was already a star in her native South Africa when she played a brief cameo in a controversial Us anti-apartheid film called Come Back, Africa. The docudrama was covertly filmed by the American director Lionel Rogosin under the noses of hostile authorities before being smuggled abroad, where it served as an early document of the iniquities of apartheid.
Makeba was both victim and beneficiary of this clandestine film. Furious South African authorities revoked her passport, forcing her to seek asylum in the Us, where Makeba quickly became a huge celebrity. She appeared on the Steve Allen show in November 1959, performed for the likes of Duke Ellington and Miles Davis at the Village Vanguard, hobnobbed with Marlon Brando, Harry Belafonte and Sammy Davis Jr and was even...
- 6/15/2011
- by John Lewis
- The Guardian - Film News
The Good Bad Movie Club, London
Going from bad to worse can only be a good thing in the world of crap movie appreciation, and the establishment that brought you Tommy Wiseau's The Room and Troll 2 has scraped even deeper to bring you a season of bottom-of-the-late-80s-barrel gems. First off is the imaginatively demented Killer Klowns From Outer Space, in which alien clowns set balloon dogs, custard pies and mutant popcorn on Earthlings – expect fancy dress and free candy floss. Other godawful classics include the cheap and disgusting Garbage Pail Kids Movie, the Et-with-product-placement tale Mac And Me, and Dolph Lundgren's pec-flexingly camp fantasy Masters Of The Universe.
Prince Charles, WC2, Sat to 10 Sep
Fantastic Films Weekend, Bradford
It's mostly retro fare for this cult festival, which is especially good news for fans of Hammer/Amicus horror – a legion to whom the name Peter Sasdy will be legend.
Going from bad to worse can only be a good thing in the world of crap movie appreciation, and the establishment that brought you Tommy Wiseau's The Room and Troll 2 has scraped even deeper to bring you a season of bottom-of-the-late-80s-barrel gems. First off is the imaginatively demented Killer Klowns From Outer Space, in which alien clowns set balloon dogs, custard pies and mutant popcorn on Earthlings – expect fancy dress and free candy floss. Other godawful classics include the cheap and disgusting Garbage Pail Kids Movie, the Et-with-product-placement tale Mac And Me, and Dolph Lundgren's pec-flexingly camp fantasy Masters Of The Universe.
Prince Charles, WC2, Sat to 10 Sep
Fantastic Films Weekend, Bradford
It's mostly retro fare for this cult festival, which is especially good news for fans of Hammer/Amicus horror – a legion to whom the name Peter Sasdy will be legend.
- 6/3/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Edinburgh International Film Festival and Sheffield Doc/Fest have announced a bold new collaboration that will allow select documentaries to receive double impact premieres.
Instead of documentary filmmakers having to choose one film festival to launch their film at, they will now be able to showcase their pieces at two festivals – giving the filmmakers greater access to industry and audiences, and their films a much bigger launchpad.
James Mullighan, director of the 65th Edinburgh International Film Festival, said of the unique collaboration:
“In these austere times, everyone in the creative industries needs to explore new collaborations, festivals included, and so I’m very pleased that we are announcing this major joint venture today. We’ve always been passionate about our commitment to British and International documentary, we’re delighted to welcome Sheffield to June, and to work with Sheffield to offer these filmmakers this double opportunity to showcase their work.
Instead of documentary filmmakers having to choose one film festival to launch their film at, they will now be able to showcase their pieces at two festivals – giving the filmmakers greater access to industry and audiences, and their films a much bigger launchpad.
James Mullighan, director of the 65th Edinburgh International Film Festival, said of the unique collaboration:
“In these austere times, everyone in the creative industries needs to explore new collaborations, festivals included, and so I’m very pleased that we are announcing this major joint venture today. We’ve always been passionate about our commitment to British and International documentary, we’re delighted to welcome Sheffield to June, and to work with Sheffield to offer these filmmakers this double opportunity to showcase their work.
- 5/7/2011
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
New York City, NY, United States (Ahn Entertainment) - Former child stars and fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen know how to start a party.
The sisters dressed to impress as they showed up Wednesday night to help kick off the Tribeca Film Festival with a screening of "The Union," reports USA Today.
The movie, which shows a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Elton John's 2010 album "The Union" with blues great Leon Russell, opened the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival in downtown Manhattan.
"The Union" is one of 15 music-themed films that will be shown at the festival, along with documentaries about rock band Kings of Leon, rocker Ozzy Osbourne and South African singer Miriam Makeba.
The sisters dressed to impress as they showed up Wednesday night to help kick off the Tribeca Film Festival with a screening of "The Union," reports USA Today.
The movie, which shows a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Elton John's 2010 album "The Union" with blues great Leon Russell, opened the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival in downtown Manhattan.
"The Union" is one of 15 music-themed films that will be shown at the festival, along with documentaries about rock band Kings of Leon, rocker Ozzy Osbourne and South African singer Miriam Makeba.
- 4/21/2011
- icelebz.com
New York City, NY, United States (Ahn Entertainment) - Former child stars and fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen know how to start a party.
The sisters dressed to impress as they showed up Wednesday night to help kick off the Tribeca Film Festival with a screening of "The Union," reports USA Today.
The movie, which shows a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Elton John's 2010 album "The Union" with blues great Leon Russell, opened the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival in downtown Manhattan.
"The Union" is one of 15 music-themed films that will be shown at the festival, along with documentaries about rock band Kings of Leon, rocker Ozzy Osbourne and South African singer Miriam Makeba.
The sisters dressed to impress as they showed up Wednesday night to help kick off the Tribeca Film Festival with a screening of "The Union," reports USA Today.
The movie, which shows a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Elton John's 2010 album "The Union" with blues great Leon Russell, opened the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival in downtown Manhattan.
"The Union" is one of 15 music-themed films that will be shown at the festival, along with documentaries about rock band Kings of Leon, rocker Ozzy Osbourne and South African singer Miriam Makeba.
- 4/21/2011
- icelebz.com
Hot Docs has announced 26 documentary features that will be a part of this year’s Special Presentations program, a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award-winners from the recent international festival circuit, and works by master filmmakers, and featuring some star subjects.
The full selection of films to screen at Hot Docs 2011 will be announced on March 22, including the 2011 opening night film but here are the special presentation titles, ordered alphabetically:
The Advocate For Fagdom D: Angélique Bosio | Germany | 92 min | North American Premiere
Romantic-Queercore-punk-zombie pornographer, gleeful crusher of cliché, righteousness and repressive politics: Viva Bruce Labruce! Scintillating film clips and fabulous interviews with John Waters, Harmony Korine, and Gus Van Sant reveal Toronto’s gift to the world.
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest D: Michael Rapaport | USA | 98 min | International Premiere
Actor Michael Rapaport’s directorial debut hits the road with Q-Tip, Phife, Ali and Jarobi,...
The full selection of films to screen at Hot Docs 2011 will be announced on March 22, including the 2011 opening night film but here are the special presentation titles, ordered alphabetically:
The Advocate For Fagdom D: Angélique Bosio | Germany | 92 min | North American Premiere
Romantic-Queercore-punk-zombie pornographer, gleeful crusher of cliché, righteousness and repressive politics: Viva Bruce Labruce! Scintillating film clips and fabulous interviews with John Waters, Harmony Korine, and Gus Van Sant reveal Toronto’s gift to the world.
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest D: Michael Rapaport | USA | 98 min | International Premiere
Actor Michael Rapaport’s directorial debut hits the road with Q-Tip, Phife, Ali and Jarobi,...
- 3/18/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Recently the Tribeca Film Festival announced it’s lineup for its heavy hitters: Spotlight, Cinemania, and Specials Screening sections. With selections such as Troll Hunters, Let the Bullets Fly, and Point Blank only scratching the surface of the variety and diversity of this year’s slate, Tff 2011 is looking out to be very promising. Check out the lineups by viewing the press release below. The remaining feature films will be announced March 23, with full coverage by the end of April.
10th Tribeca Film Festival Announces Film Selections
For Spotlight And Cinemania Sections And Special Screenings
***
Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival Lineup Also Revealed
New York, NY [March 14, 2011] – The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express, today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Cinemania sections, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival lineup. The 10th edition of the Festival will take place from...
10th Tribeca Film Festival Announces Film Selections
For Spotlight And Cinemania Sections And Special Screenings
***
Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival Lineup Also Revealed
New York, NY [March 14, 2011] – The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express, today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Cinemania sections, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival lineup. The 10th edition of the Festival will take place from...
- 3/16/2011
- by Christopher Clemente
- SoundOnSight
Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival Lineup Also Revealed
New York, NY [March 14, 2011] . The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express, today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Cinemania sections, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival lineup. The 10th edition of the Festival will take place from April 20 to May 1 in lower Manhattan.
.Now that the majority of the program has been announced I believe you will see the rich variety and quality of the films and talent that we are presenting at Tribeca this year,. said David Kwok, Director of Programming. .The program is about both discovery and showcasing a broad range of filmmaking to our eclectic and diverse audiences who are passionate about film..
.This year.s Spotlight is a mixture of carefully selected festival favorites from around the globe, highly anticipated releases, a number of new works by high...
New York, NY [March 14, 2011] . The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express, today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Cinemania sections, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival lineup. The 10th edition of the Festival will take place from April 20 to May 1 in lower Manhattan.
.Now that the majority of the program has been announced I believe you will see the rich variety and quality of the films and talent that we are presenting at Tribeca this year,. said David Kwok, Director of Programming. .The program is about both discovery and showcasing a broad range of filmmaking to our eclectic and diverse audiences who are passionate about film..
.This year.s Spotlight is a mixture of carefully selected festival favorites from around the globe, highly anticipated releases, a number of new works by high...
- 3/15/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The 10th Tribeca Film Festival (April 20-May 1) announced Monday its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Cinemania sections, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival lineup.
Spotlight is comprised of 33 films, including 16 documentaries and 17 narratives, 16 of which will world premiere at the Festival. The Cinemania section offers an eclectic assortment of eight narrative films that defy categorization from all around the world.
Meanwhile, the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival will feature the world premiere of Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney’s “Catching Hell” as its Centerpiece Gala. The film explores the relationship between Chicago Cubs fans and Steve Bartman following his infamous near-catch of a foul ball in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series.
The complete list of films selected for Spotlight, Cinemania, and Special Screenings follow, as well as the titles in the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. Descriptions were provided by the festival.
Spotlight is comprised of 33 films, including 16 documentaries and 17 narratives, 16 of which will world premiere at the Festival. The Cinemania section offers an eclectic assortment of eight narrative films that defy categorization from all around the world.
Meanwhile, the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival will feature the world premiere of Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney’s “Catching Hell” as its Centerpiece Gala. The film explores the relationship between Chicago Cubs fans and Steve Bartman following his infamous near-catch of a foul ball in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series.
The complete list of films selected for Spotlight, Cinemania, and Special Screenings follow, as well as the titles in the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. Descriptions were provided by the festival.
- 3/14/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
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