Documentaries
Accra, the Music of Nana Danso Abiam
In December, Nana Danso Abiam was killed in a car accident in Accra, Ghana. In 1998, Nana founded the Pan Africa Orchestra in Accra, Ghana fulfilling his dream to conduct an Afro-centric orchestra solely with traditional African instruments. The first album, Opus 1, was released in 1995 by Realworld Records and went to the top […]
Home Sweet Home
Hurricane Katrina left 65,000 residential buildings abandoned and thousands of people homeless. Ruined schools, hospitals and even the city hall annex were deserted and before long filled up with the homeless seeking shelter, creating a post-apocalyptic scenario. With a full time staff of two people, Unity Outreach, a non-profit charity in New Orleans, set out […]
Someplace Like America
“Someplace Like America” is a book written by Dale Maharidge with photos by Michael Williamson (both Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists) who for years traveled America, imbedding themselves with America’s homeless, researching the book. Along the way they bonded with many of those who have fallen through the cracks of the economic system, and here years later […]
Agadez (trailer)
For the Tuareg, the desert is freedom. Music is power.
Tuareg nomads have lived in the Sahara Desert for centuries, connecting North and West Africa with their camel caravans. They are fiercely independent and have staged many rebellions, fighting to protect their freedom and territory. From Agadez, Niger, an extraordinary Tuareg guitarist Omara “Bombino” Moctar, uses music to inspire a new generation in adapting to a modern world.
This is the film (produced along with his first album “Agadez”) that helped launch Bombino as a world music star. It begins during his exile to Burkina Faso after the 2007 rebellion, and follows him on his return to Agadez where he celebrated the end of the rebellion with his legendary concert in front of the Grande Mosque of Agadez.
