My Friend Fela

Fela Kuti mixed yoruba music, jazz, highlife, and funk into Afrobeat – an explosive mix that made him a star and an idol for a large African audience in the 1970s. The documentary My Friend Fela gives plenty of samples from his extensive musical catalogue, as well as visual examples of his danse performances. Meanwhile it does not shy away from exposing some of the more controversial sides of Kuti, such as his views on women, and his political struggle for pan-africanism. The fim builds on a biography about Kuti, penned by author Carlos Moore, who is also the narrator of this film and our guide in interviews with wives, musicians, lovers, and other Kuti contemporaries.

Joel Zito Araújo has had a long and impressive carriere as a producer and director of films from his home country Brazil. Among his most renowned titles is the award-winning feature film Daughters of the Wind (2004).