Film Screening: “Finding Fela”
Fela Kuti, the Nigerian musician who defined Afrobeat, influenced everyone from Paul McCartney to Michael Jackson. Now, with Finding Fela, Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie) sheds new light on the politically fiery artist with never before seen footage and documents, including Kuti’s report card (there’s a reason he wasn’t a doctor like his brothers). By framing the biography of the musician (Kuti died from AIDS-related complications in 1997) through rehearsals for Bill T. Jones’ Tony-winning musical Fela!, Gibney presents two stories in one – the staging of a complicated production and the life of a dissident legend.
New Yorkers, Stephen and Ruth Hendel along with investors; Jay-Z, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the show’s director and choreographer, Bill T. Jones kept the Fela brand alive on Broadway and executive produced the film “Finding Fela.”