AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL NEW ZEALAND

Synopsis

A portrait of the mythical band Bembeya Jazz, which contributed hugely to the blossoming of the cultural renaissance of President Sekou Toure’s Guinea. Bembeya Jazz was created in 1961 in the city of Beyla in the rainforest of Guinea, and rapidly became Africa’s greatest orchestra. The president recognised sport and culture as some of the pillars of development. Successful artists and sport man and women were employed by the government as public servants with full rights. The Bembeya Jazz was one of the first bands to receive that consideration. From 1966 it became known as Bembeya Jazz National and nits musicians became government employees. It is said that Bembeya can make you dance, cry and laugh: the band created a powerful and hypnotic fusion of traditional music, Jazz, Afropop and Cuban music. Their work lives on in this documentary history.