Message by Music: Senegal in Transition

When We Were Kings(en)

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

The Miracle of Candeal(es)

The story of the Candeal favela in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, where musician Carlinhos Brown carries out social and cultural initiatives that protect and enrich the lives of its inhabitants every day.

Keur Simbara(en)

Keur Simbara is an intimate, lyrical short documentary that follows a group of women community organizers in a rural Senegalese village as they build and sustain systems of health, finance, agriculture, and domestic infrastructure. Amid water scarcity and environmental challenges, they articulate their hopes for the future and the legacy they wish to leave behind. Keur Simbara is a tribute to communal wisdom and the power of local organizing.

Afrikki(fr)

Break Free - Two People. Two Years. One Dream(de)

When Lena and Ulli start the engine of their old Land Rover, Lady Terés, they have a plan: to drive from Hamburg to South Africa in six months. What they don't know yet is that they won't ever get there. Two totally different characters, jammed together in two square meters of space for almost two years, they experience what it really means to travel: leaving your comfort zone for good.

Africa Rising(de)

How African artists have spread African culture all over the world, especially music, since the harsh years of decolonization, trying to offer a nicer portrait of this amazing continent, historically known for tragic subjects, such as slavery, famine, war and political chaos.

Laamb(en)

The rules are simple in Senegalese wrestling: First man down, loses. The sport derives from ritual manhood trials and has developed into a national sport with packed stadiums and huge prizes. Today, the fight is supplemented with bare knuckle boxing but without any protection. The 22­-year-­old cattle herder Ndoff has been chosen to compete in an annual talent event in Dakar, and faces a possible breakthrough as a pro wrestler. LAAMB is the story of a sport filled with myths and extreme voodoo rituals, and a modern tale about fighting one’s way out of poverty.

Chasing the Sound(en)

Travel with Major Lazer to Ghana and Nigeria to make the world smaller by making the party bigger. They are collaborating with cutting-edge Afrobeats artists including Mr.Eazi, Efya, Teni, Sarkodie and Amaarae as they explore the culture and history of Africa. Chasing the Sound: Major Lazer, watch now only on YouTube.

Tunisia Clash(ar)

Journalist and director Hind Meddeb follows cult and controversial figures of the Tunisian rap scene as they clash with police and the ruling power. Rapper Weld El 15 (on the run from police while awaiting trial) and his friend, fellow artist Phenix, show her around their country, from working-class suburbs of south Tunis to the central regions' desert plateaux.

Daniel Balavoine : 40 ans déjà(fr)

Through Daniel Balavoine's greatest songs, which have become cult classics, this documentary traces the dazzling career of a free-spirited singer, driven by an urgent need to speak out, denounce injustice, and love, whose lyrics continue to touch several generations. Rare archives, testimonials from those who knew him, expert analysis and insights from today's musicians highlight the enduring modernity of his work and examine the legacy he left to French music.

Feneen(fr)

FENEEN is a journey into Senegal's urban music scene. This project was born from the meeting of Italian producer Frank Sativa with Senegalese pop-star Leuz Diwane G and Italian-Senegalese rapper F.U.L.A. This gave rise to a song, a video clip and a documentary with the same name (Feneen). Feneen portrays the current urban and music subculture of Dakar suburbs. The documentary highlights the fundamental rule of the urban subculture in debunking the stereotypical image of the African continent.

Diambar, feminismes en moviment al Senegal(ca)

Nooko Bokk(fr)

Under African Skies: Ethiopia(en)

First aired on TV on the BBC Two on 29 September 1989, this second episode of the documentary series "Under African Skies", a grand project aimed at presenting the rich diversity of contemporary African music of those days and known for its unforgettable memento "A celebration of the new sounds of a continent. " traverses the nostalgic roots and the euphoric contours of Ethiopian music of the '80s.

Queen of the Sea(en)

A short documentary exploring how the ocean is an empowering space for women to connect. Told through the personal story of Deguene, a 17 year old surfer, from Dakar, Senegal. She leads us on a journey through the waves of her familial past which is deeply connected to the spirit of the ocean. This powerful story explores the symbiotic relationship between women, the ocean, community and sport.

Machanic Manyeruke: The Life of Zimbabwe's Gospel Music Legend(en)

Machanic Manyeruke is the founder of gospel music in Zimbabwe—though, his influence reaches far beyond the borders of his African country. Filmmaker James Ault places Manyeruke in his contexts and explores his influence on gospel music worldwide.

The Taste of Salt(fr)

At Ngay Ngay, a village in northern Senegal, there are real natural evaporative basins in which depending on the year large or small quantities of sea salt dry out. Located 15 kilometres from Saint-Louis, the village is living around a complex community organisation: men divide the salt fields into plots, and women are those who harvest. In the end, the men receive a share of the crop, while women are those who took great pains over the harvesting.

Practice Makes Perfect(en)

The film is primarily a portrait of Kam Kelly, who teaches West African drumming to students at various New York schools, including Intermediate School 292 in Brooklyn. One of his students, Jessica Jackson, is featured. The piece was commissioned for the “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2012.

The Scientist of Sound(en)

Thursday 27th of October 2016 – Teatro Espace, Turin. Mulatu Astatke is a musician, composer, arranger and Ethiopia’s cultural ambassador. He’s known as the godfather of ethiojazz, a unique blend of jazz, traditional Ethiopian music, latin, caribbean reggae and afrofunk. Born in 1943 in Jimma, Mulatu studied music not only in Ethiopia but also in UK and USA. In 2005 he contributed to the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch’s film “Broken Flowers”, reaching a new public worldwide.

The Rumba Kings(en)

In the fifties, when the future Democratic Republic of Congo was still a Belgian colony, an entire generation of musicians fused traditional African tunes with Afro-Cuban music to create the electrifying Congolese rumba, a style that conquered the entire continent thanks to an infectious rhythm, captivating guitar sounds and smooth vocals.