African Studies Center in association with Los Angeles Film Festival is proud to host this special screening of SOUL POWER.
Directed by Jeff Levy-Hinte and starring James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, The Spinners, Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars, Muhammad Ali, Don King, Stewart Levine. Sould Power is a blazing concert film documents Zaire '74, the sister event to the famed Ali/Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle," featuring previously unseen performances by James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz and others.
In 1974, the most celebrated American R&B acts of the time came together with the most renowned musical groups in Africa for a 12-hour, three-night long concert held in Kinshasa, Zaire. The dream-child of Hugh Masekela and Stewart Levine, this music festival became a reality when they convinced boxing promoter Don King to combine the event with “The Rumble in the Jungle,” the epic fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, previously chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary WHEN WE WERE KINGS.
SOUL POWER is a verité documentary about this legendary music festival (dubbed “Zaire ‘74”), and it depicts the experiences and performances of such musical luminaries as James Brown, BB King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, among a host of others. At the peak of their talents and the height of their careers, these artists were inspired by this return to their African roots, as well as the enthusiasm of the Zairian audience, to give the performances of their lives. The concert has achieved mythological significance as the definitive Africa(n)-American musical event of the 20th Century.
Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU5gT7dvndc
Date: Sunday, June 21, 2009
Time: 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Ford Amphitheatre
Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States
Tickets available at Ford Amphitheatre box office
Sponsor(s): African Studies Center, Los Angeles Film Festival
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