Youssou N'dour : I Bring What I Love
Youssou N'dour: I Bring What I Love
In collaboration with Africadelic, Eye will screen this prize-winning documentary that follows iconic Senegalese artist Youssou N'Dour during a crucial time in his life i.e. around the time of the release of his controversial album Egypt in 2004. We will be screening the 35mm version from Eye’s collection.
On his album Egypt, Youssou N'Dour – the best-selling African pop artist of all time –expresses his love of Islam in an attempt to promote a more tolerant view of the religion. However, whereas the album received critical acclaim in the west, even winning a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album, many Muslims in Senegal and the rest of Africa view it as blasphemous. And so it came to pass that N’Dour’s most personal, spiritual album was banned in his country of birth, and in Egypt.
About Africadelic
Africadelic is an annual festival on and around International Africa Day (May 25) celebrating the creativity, diversity and resilience of Africa. The Africadelic Festival is an ode to the African continent and its worldwide diaspora, and offers a showcase of the cultural riches and the impacts that Afrodescen-dants (people of African descent) have on global culture and society. From May 24-31, 2023, the festival offers a week full of concerts, films, talks and other engaging events, including this premiere screening of Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love in Eye.
The film will be introduced by Christopher 'Tijan' Smith, a Gambian actor and screenwriter who now lives in the Netherlands. Smith will reflect on Youssou N'Dour's career, which arguably started in The Gambia, and share some of his own experiences of being a West African artist.
This is part of
Details
Director
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Production year
2008
Length
126 min.
Country
SN, US, FR, EG
Language
French, Wolof, English, Arabic
Subtitles
Dutch
Part of
Eye on Sound
With Eye on Sound, Eye focuses on the special relationship between image and sound. Expect live music to silent films, live bands from today to classics of yesteryear, brand new scores to films from the versatile Eye collection and special attention to the often neglected art of sound design.
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