In mali blues, belgianborn writer lieve joris travels to the west african countries of senegal, mauritania, and mali a region that to many westerners seems obscure, even destitute and impoverished. The musicians of mali blues mix modern politics with. It communicates the problems facing the country and calls for resistance. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing mali blues near you. The band released their debut album, music in exile, via transgressive records on february 23, 2015, while julian casablancas cult records partnered with atlantic records to release the album in. Yet today, the music and musicians of mali are in grave danger.
Mali blues 2017 world music star fatoumata diawara prepares for her performance at the 2015 festival of the niger, her first in her home country of mali. A moving documentary about malis musicians and their fight against religious militants. Mali blues, making music in the face of jihadists the. Mali blues cast and crew cast photos and info fandango. Songhoy blues is a desert blues music group from timbuktu, mali. How traditional mali music influenced deltastyle blues, and how american blues and pop now influence contemporary malian pop, is evident in a number of recent recordings. Publicity image when the festivals stopped, foreign artists and music producers also stopped coming to mali, making it harder for artists to launch. They completed 24 performances in the united states of america late in the year. Jun 28, 2017 lutz gregors film, as beautiful in its photography as the desert blues kouyate plays, tracks four malian musicians in the weeks before 2015s festival of the niger in southern mali.
The west african country of mali is considered the birthplace of the blues and jazz. Gaza surf club, mali blues, the stairs by matt fagerholm. Published on aug 9, 2016 director lutz gregor follows rising world music star fatoumata diawara as she prepares for her firstever concert performance in her home country of mali at the festival. With fatoumata diawara, ahmed ag kaedi, bassekou kouyate, master soumy. Since the nation made its debut in 1964, malian athletes had appeared in every edition of the summer olympic games, with the exception of the 1976 summer olympics in montreal because of the african boycott mali national olympic and sports committee french. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. A moving documentary about mali s musicians and their fight against religious militants. For centuries music has strengthened malis cultural identity, musicians are holding strong positions in society. Publicity image when the festivals stopped, foreign artists and music producers also stopped coming to mali, making it. The feature debut of the writer and director bi gan, kaili blues finds chen chen yongzhong, a physician, working at a shabby medical clinic. The west african country of mali is a birthplace of the blues, a musical tradition later carried by the transatlantic slave trade to americas cotton fields. Aug 09, 2016 published on aug 9, 2016 director lutz gregor follows rising world music star fatoumata diawara as she prepares for her firstever concert performance in her home country of mali at the festival. Norbert daldrop fund for art and culture german documentary film festival.
Desert blues is a 2006 documentary film directed by michel jaffrennou produced under an international collaboration between belgium, france and mali synopsis. A multiinstrumentalist with staggering range, he draws from hiphop and neosoul to build driving, lyrically rich songs onto rock. The west african country of mali is a cradle of the blues, a musical tradition later carried by the transatlantic slave trade to americas cotton fields. Together with the stars of malian global pop, we embark on a musical journey to malis agitated. Gregors film follows one of malis top stars, singer and actress fatoumata diawara as she takes us on a contemporary musical journey that introduces us to committed musicians who are fighting for unity and the freedom to express themselves through their music, including famed ngoni player and traditional griot bassekou kouyate, street. Kaili blues, a dreamy trek with otherworldly beauty. Mali blues should appeal both to world music fans and anyone interested in the increasing tensions between secular and religious forces in africa. World music star fatoumata diawara prepares for her performance at the 2015 festival of the niger. Mali s music defines the countrys cultural identity.
Mali blues a film by lutz gregor featuring fatoumata diawara, ahmed ag kaedi, bassekou kouyate, and master soumy goosebumpinducing. Over the past two years, the africa rising program has been working with various partners in southern mali to introduce high yielding, farmer and livestock preferred dualpurpose sorghum varieties. Text size printable version the west african country of mali is a birthplace of the blues, a musical tradition later carried by the transatlantic slave trade to americas cotton fields. Alongside fatoumata diawara the young shooting star of the global pop scene the movie makes us travel through breathtaking landscapes and discover malis agitated heart from bamako in the southwest to the festival au desert in northern timbuktu. Together with the stars of malian global pop fatoumata diawara, bassekou kouyate. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Although they come from different ethnic groups, two musicians and one band from mali come together to make people listen to the desert. Mali blues tells the story of four female and male musicians from the west. They will have to kill us first won the prize for best feature documentary at the cimmfest no. Mali blues offers four portraits of radical african.
The west african country of mali is the birthplace of the blues, a musical tradition thats flourished in america since being carried here by the transatlantic slave. A film that celebrates the power of music from the birthplace of blues, mali blues follows four musicians who are leading figures in the malian global pop scene singer fatoumata diawara. Tinariwen is a group of tuareg musicians from the sahara desert region of northern mali. For centuries music has strengthened malis cultural identity, with musicians holding strong positions in society. Following fatoumata diawara, shooting star of the global pop scene, comes a musical journey. A scene from mali blues, a documentary directed by lutz gregor thats about malian musicians. Together with the stars of malian global pop fatoumata diawara, bassekou kouyate master soumy and ahmed ag kaedi we embark on a musical journey to malis agitated heart. Master soumy is a young street rapper influenced by hiphop. Habib koite, a bambara whose roots are in the khassonke culture of western mali. Together with the stars of malian global pop fatoumata diawara, bassekou kouyate master soumy and ahmed ag kaedi we embark on a musical journey to mali s agitated heart. Fatoumata fatou diawara is a rising star on the global pop scene memorably featured in abderrahmane sissakos acclaimed drama timbuktu. Mali blueswhich doubles as a travelogue of the countrys dirt roads, ramshackle dwellings, and helmetless motorbike ridershas a loose, informal feel. Nuanced meditations on the limbo of the diaspora and celebrations of malis ethnic plurality color the fabric of this film, which vibrates with urgency and life.
Joris captures the strong will of west africans, their enduring traditions and heritage, their thumping music, and their unmatched ability to carry on despite hardship and political turmoil. Between the magnetic attraction of timbuktus famed festival in the desert and the international outreach of world music stars like desert blues band tinariwen, singers amadou and mariam, and the late, liquidfingered guitar deity ali farka. Poland 7 october 2016 warsaw film festival sweden november 2016. The takeover of northern mali between 2012 and 20 by radical islamist forces got a powerful fictionalized treatment in the widely acclaimed 2014 film.
The vibrant documentary mali blues follows four artists. Yet today, the music and musicians of mali are in danger. Please allow approximately 20 extra minutes for preshow and trailers before the show starts. May 20, 2016 the feature debut of the writer and director bi gan, kaili blues finds chen chen yongzhong, a physician, working at a shabby medical clinic in kaili, a city in china.
Lutz gregors mali blues is similar to gaza surf club in that it is effortlessly watchable, yet too pleasing and picturesque for its own good. A new music film tells the story of malis musical exiles. As a child he saw a western film in which a cowboy played a guitar. Mali blues is a documentary directed by lutz gregor. Mali blues is a film by lutz gregor that illustrates malis rich musical culture. Jun 29, 2017 the takeover of northern mali between 2012 and 20 by radical islamist forces got a powerful fictionalized treatment in the widely acclaimed 2014 film. Malis music defines the countrys cultural identity. Bassekou kouyate is a celebrated ngoni player and traditional griot. After islamic fundamentalists ban music from northern towns in mali, local musicians are forced to. In mali blues, belgianborn writer lieve joris travels to the west african countries of senegal, mauritania, and malia region that to many westerners seems obscure, even destitute and impoverished. My new car pool pals told me that the film featured an amazing band called songhoy blues and that the film told the story of how the band had. A film by lutz gregor an icarus films release blues nuanced meditations on the limbo of the diaspora and. The band was formed in bamako after they were forced to leave their homes during the civil conflict and the imposition of sharia law.