GOOD OL' FREDA (2013)!

Just when you thought you’d heard all the stories possible about the Beatles, a new documentary is in the works! 

Good Ol' Frreda is a documentary by Ryan White about the Beatles trusted friend and secretary, Freda Kelly. Premiered at SxSW 2013.

LA MALETA MEXICANA (2011)!

La Maleta Mexiacana (Mexican Suitcase) tells the story of the recovery of 4,500 negatives by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David 'Chim' Seymour taken during the Spanish Civil War found 70 years later in a closet in Mexico City. The film looks at the journey of these negatives from France to Mexico; their survival and looks at how Spain reflects today on its own history as well as those who escaped. Mexico was the only country to come to the rescue and support of the Spanish Republic and then honor and support the Republic in exile when the rest of the world turned its back. Mexican Suitcase looks at this unique story and these photos lost for seventy years.

Director & Writer: Trisha Ziff

DESERT BLUES, UN VOYAGE MUSICAL AU COEUR DU MALI!

In 2007 Michel Jaffrennou produced the documentary ‘Desert Blues – Un Voyage Musical au Coeur du Mali‘. Due to the current developments in Northern Mali this movie could not find more relevance today. 

The movie takes us on a trip from Bamako to Tombouctou and presents us the culture and music of the Bambara, Songhai and Touareg people. It is a musical invitation to voyage deep into the Sahara and the Niger River, a voyage across sand and water. Symbiotically, in tune with the world of the musicians and their music, it is about the creation of sound-images, of song-images that tell the story of Mali, the Mali of today, land of enchantment. The unifying theme is the stories related by the poets and griot musicians in their songs: stories of love, of struggles and of heroes...in which the natural and supernatural co-exist as a part of everyday life. It is a musical tale, combining the real and the imaginary, weaving a spell of images and stories that enchants viewers and carry them off into the heart of Malian Africa, into its landscapes, its fantasies, as well as its everyday concerns. A film made up of music and songs, without any additional words, but with a multicultural perspective that should appeal to viewers all over the world. It features the great Malian artists Habib Koité, Afel Bocoum and the group Tartit and reminds us once more about the imaginably rich musical tradition that Mali has.  

Below you can watch the documentary in French. Please click here to watch it with English subtitle.

And check jusilove.com for more music from Africa and the African diaspora!

THE BULLY PROJECT!

MADE IN AMERICA!

Showtime's documentary "Made In America," (premiered Friday night on Showtime) from director Ron Howard, goes behind the scenes of the making of one of the biggest concert events of the year -- Jay Z's Made In America festival in Philadelphia (September 1, 2012).

The documentary follows the artists (From Jay Z to Run-D.M.C., The Hives to Pearl Jam, Kanye West to Jill Scott, Santigold to Passion Pit and more) as they prepare for and play their sets, but it also gets perspective from festival security guards, crew members, promoters and food vendors, and even the mayor of Philadelphia.

It's a fascinating look at Jay Z's rise -- including a scene where he visits his old apartment, which now has a view of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn that houses his 40/40 Club -- and at what artists are doing to help revive local economies and bring people from all walks of life together.

Jay Z explains that his impetus for Made in America was to create a multi-genre festival in which people of all backgrounds can mesh. "Made in America could become a place where people of all cultures gather and have fun being themselves," he says. The rapper vehemently states that he’s "not an elected official," yet his words could foreshadow a new hip-hop political platform: "America is now being accepting of all cultures," he says. "We have a black president now. . . . We’ve made steps as far as racism. Now we have to make steps towards sexism, gay rights. . . . We’re all people at the end of the day. . . . We all have that belief that you can make it here in the land of the free and the home of the brave." Rolling Stone recaps the most memorable moments here. 

Ron Howard with Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z backstage during the Budweiser Made In America Festival

Just ignore the small pop-up and press play

''HELLO, I AM YOUR BROTHER, PIERRE.''

Family Secret (2001). After the director's mother receives a letter from Romania saying: "I'm looking for the trace of Dr. Ionel Florian Rapaport family.", American filmmaker Pola Rapaport discovers her unknown Romanian half-brother, Pierre. Pierre is the family secret that their father carried with him to the grave. The letter from Romania inspires her to take a trip halfway around the world to meet the brother that she never knew she had, and together to investigate their family's secret past, in Paris, New York and Bucharest. 

Can't really recommend it yet, because I found it last night and didn't watch it yet. But it definitely sounds like an interesting documentary. Plus, the father was from Buzau, my hometown!

First few minutes of the film available here!

Winner, Best Documentary of the Year, Societe civile des auteurs multimedia.

“Breaks your heart but at the same time it puts our hearts in communication with one another, in a very human, meaningful way. -- Albert Maysles, director of Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens

MADEMOISELLE C!

Carine Roitfeld ran French Vogue for 10 years, building a reputation as one of fashion's most influential movers. Her inner circle of friends includes Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld, Mario Testino, Riccardo Tisci, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Alexander Wang. Yet few people outside the fashion world have heard of her...until now. 

Mademoiselle C chronicles Carine's launch of her new magazine "CR Fashion Book" It gives a rare inside glimpse at the inner workings not only of Roitfeld's professional world but also her personal life. It is a film about transition, letting the audience watch as Carine moves to New York, starts a new business, and prepares to become a grandmother. And of course, its filled the the models, celebrities, and eccentric personalities that make the fashion world so entertaining.

Happy Fashion Week!

CHET BAKER: LET'S GET LOST!

''When Charlie Parker first heard Chet play he called Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie and said: 'this little white cat out here is gonna give you guys a lot of trouble'''

Travelling with the elusive jazz vocalist and trumpeter Chet Baker, Bruce Weber weaves together the life story of a jazz great. The film uses excerpts from Italian B movies, rare performance footage, and candid interviews with Baker, musicians, friends, battling ex-wives and his children in what turned out to be the last year of his life. Winner of the 1989 Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award, Let's Get Lost has become an important document in the career of the filmmaker on the life of a jazz legend. Since its release in 1989 Let's Get Lost has introduced a whole new generation of jazz enthusiasts to the timeless talent of the late Chet Baker.

Sadly, like most jazz musicians, Chet's legacy is completely lost on today's youth culture...

WATCH THE FULL DOCUMENTARY AFTER THE BREAK!!!

THE NEW CUBA!

Adventurer and journalist Simon Reeve heads to Cuba to find a communist country in the middle of a capitalist revolution. Two years ago Cuba announced the most sweeping and radical economic reforms the country has seen in decades. From ending state rationing to cutting one million public-sector jobs, one of the last communist bastions in the world has begun rolling back the state on an unprecedented scale. Simon Reeve meets ordinary Cubans whose lives are being transformed, from the owners of fledgling businesses to the newly rich estate agents selling properties worth up to 750,000 pounds. 

In this hour-long documentary for the BBC's award-winning This World strand, Simon gets under the skin of a colourful and vibrant country famous for its hospitality and humour and asks if this new economic openness could lead to political liberalisation in a totalitarian country with a poor human rights record. Will Cuba be able to maintain the positive aspects of its long isolation under socialism - low crime, top-notch education and one of the best health systems in the world - while embracing what certainly looks like capitalism? Is this the last chance to see Cuba before it becomes just like any other country?

BARNES FOUNDATION: THE ART OF THE STEAL!

An un-missable look at one of the art world's most fascinating controversies and a celebrated selection of the Toronto, New York and AFI Film Festivals, Don Argott's gripping documentary THE ART OF THE STEAL chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of art valued at more than $25 billion. 

In 1922, Dr. Albert C. Barnes formed a remarkable educational institution around his priceless collection of art, located just five miles outside of Philadelphia. Now, more than 50 years after Barnes' death, a powerful group of moneyed interests have gone to court for control of the art, and intend to bring it to a new museum in Philadelphia. Standing in their way is a group of Barnes' former students and his will, which contains strict instructions stating the Foundation should always be an educational institution, and that the paintings may never be removed. Will they succeed, or will a man's will be broken and one of America's greatest cultural monuments be destroyed?

$ELLEBRITY!

A documentary featuring celebrity interviews examining the price we pay as a society for indulging our curiosity with celebrity gossip culture. Celebrity photographer Kevin Mazur gives an all access pass to life behind the velvet rope and in front of the camera.

WHERE THE LONELY KIDS GO WHEN THE BELL RINGS!

''Where The Lonely Kids Go When The Bell Rings'' is the title of the expected documentary about Kayne West shot by Filmmaker James Workman. From his College Dropout days to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and various interesting nuggets in between, the film explores what made Kanye West, Mr. Kanye West. The documentary encompasses live performances, interviews and other rare footage.

WAVERIDERS!

Waveriders is the previously untold story of the unlikely Irish roots of the worldwide surfing phenomenon and today's pioneers of Irish big wave surfing.

Waveriders focuses on the Irish roots of surfing. The film covers the life of Irish-Hawaiian surfer George Freeth and his influence in popularizing surfing in California and his contributions to lifeguarding. It also follows Irish, British and American surfers Richie Fitzgerald, Gabe Davies, Kelly Slater and the Malloy Brothers. The surfers conquer enormous sixty foot waves!!! - the biggest swell to have been ridden off the Irish Atlantic Coast. Irish surfer Easkey Britton is also featured in the film and was the first female surfer to ride the "big wave", Aill na Searrach off the Cliffs of Moher in 2007.

Margo Harkin (Producer) and Joel Conroy (Director) were awarded Outstanding Achievement in film making for Waveriders at the 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival.

SUNDAY RECOMMENDATIONS!

FILM. The documentary tells the extraordinary story of Roman Polanski’s life, beginning with his childhood in the Cracow ghetto, his first films in Poland, the move to Paris, his career in Europe and America, crowned with an Oscar for THE PIANIST, the tragedy of the murder of his pregnant wife Sharon Tate in Los Angeles, the controversy surrounding his arrest in 1977, through to his work and life today in France with his wife Emmanuelle Seigner. The conversations were recorded during Roman Polanski's stay in his home in Gstaad where he was under house arrest for several months after he was apprehended on his way to the Zurich Film Festival in 2009. The conversations are illustrated with excerpts from Polanski’s films, news footage, press clippings, private and exclusive photos, and documents chronicling the filmmaker’s extraordinary life.

SONG. Marc Streitenfeld is a German film score composer, known for his collaborations with director Ridley Scott. At the request of Ridley Scott, Streitenfeld composed for A Good Year (2006), after acting as music supervisor on Scott's 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven (scored by Harry Gregson-Williams). He then went on to score all of Scott's subsequent films to date. He was nominated for a BAFTA award for Scott's American Gangster (2007). Regarding working with Scott, Streitenfeld said "I've done quite a few films with him now and every experience has been really good".

MR CHARLES EAMES, THE ARTIST!

When, during World War II, Mr Charles Eames moved to Los Angeles with his new wife Ms Ray Eames (neé Ms Ray Kaiser), the design duo embarked on a career that would define the look of an entire era. 

Their creative and romantic partnership was of unrivalled influence in the post-war period, thanks to the way they combined an engineer's take on modernism, a joyful sense of optimism and a deeply artistic sensibility. They may now be remembered chiefly as the designers of beautiful furniture, but the film suggests that their talents were far broader than their current legacy suggests.

Eames: The Architect and the Painter is released on 3 August!

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THE LEGEND BEHIND THE LEGEND

Kevin McDonald’s meticulously produced documentary Marley (2012) portrays 

the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley in an unprecedented way!

The documentary is definitely a MUST, and if you have the chance to watch it

at the cinema, the experience will be even more striking!

Enjoy!