“Music gives life to your soul”

The title of this article is a line from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love, part of the First Appearance Competition. Vasarhelyi’s film draws a portrait of the world-renowned singer from Senegal, mainly focusing on his career after the album Egypt - which was highly controversial in his home country, but became a big success all over the world. Egypt was a turning point in his career in the sense that it was the first time he attempted to base his artistic creation on his religious practices, as a man very much committed to Islam. The album received a very negative reaction from Muslim audiences, who found it disrespectful to use the names of key Islamic figures in song lyrics. But for Ndour his career, his religion and his African origins are inseparable. The film follows him in his journey as a decisive man fighting - through his songs - for the values he believes in and for his roots, culture and family, in order for them to gain the respect they deserve. Followed by a concert from Ndour himself, the screening of the film received much praise at the festival.

The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector is another interesting portrayal of a famous figure from the international music scene - the eccentric producer/songwriter Phil Spector, who was accused of murdering B-movie actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. Vikram Jayanti’s film consists of a video interview with the man himself, footage from his trial and full versions of the most successful hit songs he wrote or produced, including the last Beatles album Let It Be. His role in Clarkson’s death remains unclear, but the film uses a more or less positive approach towards its controversial character, emphasizing his human side starting from his childhood traumas.

RiseUp, an energetic exploration of the Jamaican underground music scene, has been one of the most appreciated films of the festival this year. It follows three young people trying to distinguish themselves in a culture which is immediately affiliated with Rastafarians, reggae and drugs. Luciano Blotta successfully gives flesh and blood to the empty clichés that we are used to concerning the country.

The IDFA programme also includes the international premiere of a documentary about one of the most legendary musical figures of America. As the title indicates, Bestor Cram’s Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison sheds light upon a crucial point in the career of the charismatic singer. Still today this event means that his name is associated with prison songs, and it’s certainly the source of the myth about his days in prison, which is nothing but a misinformation.

He himself may never have been locked up, but as a person with drug problems - and in some senses someone close to the edges of society, he had a strong empathy with prisoners. Cram focuses on the recordings of his concert at Folsom Prison on the 13th of January 1968. Through interviews with Cash’s band members and family, as well as with former prisoners and their families, animations, and Cash’s original voiceover, it describes the motivations and consequences of the concert without any original video footage of the event.

All of these ‘musical’ documentaries show, in some way or another, that music is always more than it seems to be. In Cash’s case it was obviously a form of solidarity, whereas for Ndour it is a way of standing up for a cultural identity. It can be a method of dealing with poverty or gaining self-fulfilment, and sometimes it is the outcome of a peculiar personality. In any case it is something that gives life to the soul, and maybe that’s why these films touch their audiences in a different way than any other.

Evrim Kaya