Category Archives: Film Features

Film documentary: Billy Bang: Long Over Due

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

The is the trailer for the documentary film Billy Bang: Long Over Due on legend jazz violinist Billy Bang, directed and written by award winning director Oscar Sanders. This film will be released sometime this year. It will remind you why this man, who passed away in April last year, was so revered by musicians and the jazz audience.

This film documents the music and the working style of Billy Bang, an internationally known, critically acclaimed violinist. Also interviews with musicians and personalities that know Billy Bang first hand and reveal what makes this extremely talented, award winning recording artist tick. Production began in November of 2010 in Patterson, New Jersey at the Patterson Public Library.

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Documentary film: Boubacar Traoré “Je chanterai pour toi (I’ll Sing For You)”

Boubacar Traoré (born 1942 in Kayes, Mali) is a renowned singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Traoré also goes by the nickname Kar Kar, (a footballing nickname in Bambara meaning “The Dribbler” given him by his friends). In 1968, when Moussa Traoré overthrew Malian president Modibo Keita, Boubacar Traoré, widely seen as an artist associated with the previous regime, disappeared from the airwaves. During the 1970s Traoré’s popularity faded, until a surprise television appearance in 1987. Soon after this “rediscovery,” Boubacar’s wife died during childbirth. Grief-stricken, he moved to France and did construction work to support his six children. While there, a British record producer discovered a tape of one of Traoré’s radio performances, and he was finally signed to a record deal. His first album, Mariama, was released in 1990. Since then, Traoré has enjoyed international popularity, touring Europe, Africa, and North America. Boubacar figures in the book Mali Blues (Lonely Planet, Australia), by Belgian writer Lieve Joris. The book inspired Swiss film director Jacques Sarasin for the 2001 film Je chanterai pour toi (“I’ll Sing For You”) about Boubacar, released on DVD in 2005.

 About the film

Documentary film – “Passione: A Musical Adventure” by John Turturro

Date:  June 22 — July 5
Venue: Film Forum (West Houston Street, West of 6th Avenue)
Time: daily at 1:00, 2:50, 4:40, 6:30, 8:20 and 10:10

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Little wonder that PASSIONE, John Turturro’s wild, colorful, sexy ode to the music and people of Naples, was “rapturously received” (Variety) and interrupted by “spontaneous outbreaks of applause” (Sight + Sound Magazine) in Italy, where it played for more than four months (its soundtrack on the charts for five). A brilliant actor in film, theater, and television, Turturro is also the director of three features (including the hilarious, irreverent ROMANCE & CIGARETTES, which premiered at Film Forum) and a man whose talents are fueled by an unquenchable zest for life. He describes PASSIONE as “a musical adventure that comes directly out of the people and the volcanic land they inhabit. Conjuring ancient stories and myths that still live — of love, sex, jealousy, and social protest — each song is a small screenplay, an emotional postcard. I tried to see if I could understand in a small way, a little bit of the soul of the city, while at the same time killing clichés about it. There are places you go and once is enough. Then, there’s Napoli.”

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Documentary Film Preview: Dark Girls

Clips from the upcoming documentary exploring the deep-seated biases and attitudes about skin color—particularly dark skinned women, outside of and within the Black American culture.
This film will be released in Fall/Winter 2011. Check out the Dark Girls page on Facebook for updates and information.

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Directed by Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry
Produced by Bill Duke for Duke Media
and D. Channsin Berry for Urban Winter Entertainment
Co-Produced by Bradinn French
Line Produced by Cheryl L. Bedford
Edited by Bradinn French