Oak Street Cinema
Sunday, September 22, 5:30pm

Jacques Goldstein, 2001, 52 mins
“WHAT’S GOING ON?” is the singular portrait of the Afro-beat sound and its current musician extraordinare, Femi Kuti, son of Fela Kuti - “The Black President” and the creator of Afro-beat. Rising from Nigeria, one of the largest and most populous countries in Africa, Afro-beat is African urban protest music, contemporary with reggae and hip-hop. WHAT’S GOING ON? visits Fela and Femi’s hometown of Lagos, a teeming megalopolis filled with chaos and corruption. The film follows Femi on tours through the streets, in the recording studio, and at Fela’s former home, where at one point the military through him and his wife literally out the window for their political agitation.

shows with:
ALI FARKA TOURE:
SPRINGING FROM THE ROOTS
Yves Billon & Henri Leconte, France, 2000, 52 mins

Malian musician Ali Farka Toure is one of the continent’s most famous exports. Western critics have been quick to align him with the blues and artists such as John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, because of the noticeable similarities with his own musical style, sometimes styled ‘African Blues’. In this documentary, combining footage of various performances with interviews and a return to his home village, he explains the rich traditions of African music, which form the roots of most Western music.