Southbank Centre – Meltdown Festival – 3-11 Aug 2019: Nile Rodgers announced as curator of Meltdown 2019. #MeltdownFest
“Producer, songwriter, musician, composer, guitarist and sonic trendsetter Nile Rodgers will curate the 26th Meltdown, taking over Southbank Centre with his extraordinary creative vision.”
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/meltdown
These are the nominees for the Best Original Song
Listen to them here. Which one would you make the winner in this category?
https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/jammiemedia/playlist/4ci1dwaiwSW2QntJzXTmju
Director: F. Gary Gray
Producers: Tomica Woods-Wright, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre | (The writers worked with Tomica Woods-Wright, who was Eazy E’s wife.)
Cast: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Paul Giamatti, Aldis Hodge, Neil Brown Jr.
In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture.
In the mid-late 80s, ‘Gangsta’ Rap was not my thing. Thanks to my brother and the pirates, I’d been fine-tuned on Hip Hop, British Soul, Rare Grooves, Jazz Funk and American House and Garage. So I knew very little about NWA. But when I received the invite to see the film, ‘Straight Outta Compton’, I cancelled my plans, sent my apologies and was in there like a shot
‘Why?’ you might ask? Well, one of my favourite kinds of film, is a film with a music theme! Doesn’t matter the music genre, the person, the group, or the circumstance – I find them enlightening, and inspiring, and it was no different with this film.
Straight Outta Compton is NWAs story, from foundation to current day, with Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Arabian Prince, The D.O.C., DJ Yella and MC Ren. You see how they started, their first record, and manager Jerry Heller. You hear the tracks, and see the live shows, and portrayals of Suge Knight, Tupac, and Snopp Dogg.
I believed that I didn’t know NWA tracks at the start of the film, that I hadn’t really heard that many NWA tracks, I mean, I was an original hip hop girl. I moved, I changed, but original it was all about hip hop from the early 80s, but NWA? I’d missed that ship! I was wrong! I knew so many of the tracks, and it was a boon to hear them and make the connections.
There is not a dull moment in this film. Excellent acting, laughter, lyrics and tears! Yes, the film even had me crying – next level bawling…if I’m going to cry in the cinema, I like to keep it silent, no sound, just tears, but with this film, a sound escaped… that level of bawling! I left the cinema on a high! I felt blessed. I know I’m totally biased about music films, but this I enjoyed, I just enjoyed it right down to my toes. By that I mean, I loved every bit of it! I couldn’t recommend it high enough. This is worth seeing, a film you could watch again and again.
But remember, this is a film BASED on their story, it’s NOT a documentary. I’ll leave the required pinch of salt below. 😉 #YaHearMe
Out: Friday 28th August 2015
Ps. I loved this BBC Radio 4 Profile on Dr Dre.
On March 5th, a film of Laura Mvula performing with The Metropole Orkest at the Paradiso, Amsterdam (Nov 2014), will be streamed from the Genesis Cinema, Stepney Green to 160 Cinemas around the world.
Watching live events on the big screen has never quite jelled with me. Granted, that previously it has been stage musicals, (and a rather memorable Def Leppard experience with ‘VIVA! Hysteria’). This meant I approached the pre-screening of this with some trepidation. I needn’t have worried!
The film transported me to the Paradiso, with Laura Mvula, Jules Bukley and the Metropole Orkest. As Laura sang, ‘Can’t Live With The World’, I felt the hairs rise on my neck and sweep up across my scalp, followed by a tickle to my tearducts, and a tingle in my finger tips. The majesty of her voice with the soaring sounds of the orchestra combined so beautifully, I felt lucky to get the chance to experience something that I would have missed out on if it hadn’t been filmed. A truly wonderful record of that night.
The benefits of seeing a concert at the cinema included feet that won’t ache from standing around waiting for the act to start, and the ability to hear the music and her voice without the chatter of an audience. Plus, if you do get to the Genesis on the 5th, there is the added bonus of a live performance on the night. Well worth seeing! As my dad would say, ‘Wow wowwee!’.
If you can’t get to Genesis Cinema, check out this list of cinemas steaming the screening from The the film: http://www.musicscreen.co.uk/screens.html?utm_content=nllink-40c73be5-Find+your+nearest+screening!&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email|1086800853|20150220&utm_source=ukrca-lauramvula&cid=nl%3A1086800853
The East End Film Festival kicks off this weekend from Saturday 14th June to Wednesday 25th June. East End Film Festival
Here is my pick of films to catch over the festival:
Saturday 14th June
Hackney’s Finest – 9pm @ Hackney Picturehouse
A crowd pleasing tale of mayhem and ineptitude in East London, Hackney’s Finest is a riotous, knowing comedy-thriller that pits a group of hopeless Hackney drug dealers against a group of corrupt policemen, Russian thugs & Welsh-Jamaican arms dealers. An irreverent tale of greed, corruption and the fight for survival it serves as a knowing antidote to the tired British gangster genre. Festival Link
Inna Vision Film School Screening – 2pm @ Genesis
Based in East London, the Inna Vision Film School works with adults with and without lived experience of mental health issues. Making a powerful, engaging short films, the participants touch on various aspects of mental health experiences, with a particular focus on African and Caribbean communities. Festival Link
This Ain’t No Mouse Music – 1pm @ Red Gallery (Part of the “Grits n’ Gravy” screenings: A Cinematic Celebration of the Deep South)
Chris Strachwitz, the founder of Arhoolie Records, has sought out blues, zydeco, Cajun, tex-mex, klezmer and Appalachian bluegrass, recording artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Flaco Jiminez and Michael Doucet. Taking in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia, family picnics and beer joints, with music from Ry Cooder, Richard Thompson, Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal, immerse yourself with a life loving music obsessive. Festival Link
Sunday 15th June
Blue Caprice – 5.30pm @ Hackney Picturehouse
Many films claim to seriously explore the African American experience. But few manage it as powerfully, and to such harrowing ends, as Blue Caprice, Alexandre Moors’ psychological drama inspired by the ‘Beltway Sniper’ shootings that took place in 2002 in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. Festival Link
Concerning Violence – 3pm @ Hackney Picturehouse
Göran Hugo Olsson (The Black Power Mixtape) returns with another powerful filmic retrospective conjured from the archive. Inspired by Frantz Fanon’s book The Wretched of the Earth, Olsson’s film takes a look back on Africa’s independence and liberation movements, and the uprisings that led to much of Africa’s decolonisation. Festival Link
Tuesday 17th June
Angels in Exile – 6.30pm @ Rich Mix
A challenge to pervading myths about street children, Angels in Exile folds back the violent and often graphic image of homeless youth to show children facing a cycle of violence, rape, abductions and murder. The street kids of Durban, South Africa mostly have no way out, and director Billy Raftery commendably embeds himself within the community, many of whom are huffing glue as a means of temporary escape, and who are in turn facing addiction and a life of crime. Made over the course of 8 years. Festival Link
Family Reunion – 8.45pm @ Genesis
“Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.” – Arthur Miller
It’s that time of life; Dad, recently widowed, is now mourning the passing of his best friend, ‘Uncle’ Bernie. Joined by his adult children, Karen and Jason, the three return from the day’s funeral back to their family home. Cold and without the warmth their home once knew, Karen and Jason assure Dad of the imminent loving, family reunions ahead. Festival Link
Wednesday 18th June
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz – 9pm @ Genesis
Programming prodigy, information activist and tragic casualty of the crackdown on so called internet ‘piracy’, Aaron Swartz is a true internet celebrity, in the positive sense of the term. From his role in developing RSS to co-founding Reddit, he lay claim to being a genuine pioneer in the digital realm. But he was also a political campaigner, one whose dream of a better world meant access to information; a cause that would eventually land him in a two year legal battle for downloading academic material at MIT. Faced with 35 year jail term and punitive fines, he took his own life at 26, and promptly became a symbol for those fighting for a free web. Festival Link
White Shadow – 6pm @ Hackney Picturehouse
In Tanzania, witch doctors believe that albino body parts bring health, posterity and cures for dangerous illnesses. Within this environment is young albino boy Alias, who witnesses his father’s murder and is promptly sent to the city, where he lives with his uncle Kosmos, and becomes a hustling young businessman, selling DVDs and mobile phones. But despite some happy moments, not least potentially falling in love, Alias is locked in a fight for survival. Festival Link
Thursday 19th June
Leave to Remain – 6.30pm @ Genesis
Social discrimination and adjusting to life in the UK are given powerful, emotive force in Leave to Remain, the debut feature from lauded television director Bruce Goodison. A young Afghan boy arrives at a refugee home, and encounters a society and a system that is seemingly rigged against him, and where the story he tells is seemingly more important than the truth. Festival Link
Saturday 21st June
One Rogue Reporter – 4.00pm @ Rio
Recovering tabloid hack Rich Peppiatt has fallen out with the rag trade, it’s safe to say. Having mercilessly turned on the tabloid industry during the Leveson Inquiry, accusing the industry of both Islamaphobia and fitting the facts to match the story, here he turns his hand to filmmaking, in One Rogue Reporter he delivers a mercilessly satirical dissection of his former trade. Festival Link
Sunday 22nd June
Drowned City – 6.30pm @ Genesis
Transmitting illegally on London’s radio airwaves can lead to an unlimited fine and a jail sentence. Filmed over a 3 year period, Drowned City follows 3 pirates with very different stories. A story of clandestine climbs up telephone pylons and tower-block rooftops, it’s an exploration of why people take dangerous risks just to play illegal music. Jay, who began his career aged just 13, left the scene by choice at 32 without ever being caught, whereas Sam Supplier’s pirate career was ended by a 2005 police raid, a huge fine and 2 years on bail. A film about aspiration, London, music and dwindling cultural scene, one which may soon only be preserved by ex-pirates telling tales about serving their communities through illegal acts. Festival Link
Irons In The Fire – 7pm @ Genesis
‘Irons in the Fire’ follows five inspirational young people, facing up to struggle as they conquer success. This Film Festival Premiere delivers a powerful story of how five young people, overcome adversity to reach their current success. Elevated by Idris Elba’s narration and George the Poet’s punchy & enlivening words, the film explores the importance of maintaining your own identity whilst appreciating the opportunities that exist for young people. Festival Link
Payday – 7pm @ Genesis
Narrated by George the Poet, PAYDAY is a unique performance documentary, which delves into the finances and lives of four twenty-somethings. The film focuses on the contrasting lives of our diverse cast from the moment they receive their ‘payday’ money to how they go on to spend, save or squander it. Festival Link
Jammie x
As a viewer, Eurovision used to be about trying to listen to loads of songs, most of which I couldn’t understand and trying to decide which one sounded the best, even if meaning was absent.
The challenge was always to stay the course, but I often found myself nodding off as the music droned on. Not so last night, though I will confess to catching it just as the Austrian song was ending.
From there the show had me glued, and I’m wondering if that had anything to do with most of the songs being sung in English? Not in the sense of an overdose of nationalistic pride, more as in, I was able to understand them! 🙂
Anyhoo, I did like seeing Graham Norton being singled out by the presenters, and I caught a snippet of the songs I’d missed in the final round-up.
Commiserations to Molly – sleepy lyrics with a dance music rhythm. Not bad. I do wonder if that drummer performed at the Olympic opening ceremony though. 😉
Molly – Children of the Universe (United Kingdom): http://youtu.be/C6w7tmWvm6M
How the UK voted:
My favourite song of the night was from The Netherlands. It made me pay full attention to the screen and reminded me of another group I like, The Civil Wars. What would you call it? Modern Country/Folk music?
The Common Linnets – Calm After The Storm (The Netherlands): http://youtu.be/bWe8PRsW4T0
The UK vote had this track in 3rd place, they came second in the competition. The UK vote had the song from Malta in 2nd place. Another Folky-kinda sounding song.
Firelight – Coming Home (Malta): http://youtu.be/mXY0imG1SzQ
Of course the UK number 1 and overall winner was the song from Austria – the big ballad with hints of a James Bond theme tune. I can see the merit.
Conchita Wurst – Rise Like a Phoenix (Austria): http://youtu.be/SaolVEJEjV4
(Now we just need to find any James Bond baddies who went down in flames to build on my concept for the next new Bond film… ‘The Phoenix Rises’.)
So there we have it, the top three as voted by the UK audience, and maybe a hint toward what we should be aiming for next year… a country, folky, big ballad!
Ps. France… what was the tribal paint about? :-\
Irish Film London and the Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith are delighted to announce we will sponsor 2 young people aged 16-25 years to attend this 3 day course in how to make your own Music Video in London!
Friday 16th – Sunday 18th May
10am – 4pm (each day)
16-25 year olds
FREE! (Usually £40 each)
They are picking winners this week!!
Also find out about Cinemagic London
The Cinemagic International Film & Television Festival For Young People: 30th June – 3rd July 2014
By Cinemagic and Sony Music :
http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=86e5087fbe4f3cc1050a1ddf8&id=3f980d84f8&e=1af23c6811#awesomeshare
It’s all happening – London is HIP-HOP this weekend. So many events on, including this at my local cocktail bar in Kensal Rise. Check it out. Xx
Genesis Elijah – Hip Hop On The Rise.tv: http://youtu.be/Q5CjVEGBY9c
