Movies Similar to Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon

Chasing the Sound(2020)

Travel with Major Lazer to Ghana and Nigeria to make the world smaller by making the party bigger. They are collaborating with cutting-edge Afrobeats artists including Mr.Eazi, Efya, Teni, Sarkodie and Amaarae as they explore the culture and history of Africa. Chasing the Sound: Major Lazer, watch now only on YouTube.

Fela Kuti: Live at Glastonbury 1984(1984)

Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti performs at the 1984 Glastonbury Festival. Originally produced for Arena.

Birth of Afrobeat(2018)

In September of 2017, 77 year old Nigerian drummer Tony Allen was invited to record the album 'What Goes Up' with American band, Chicago Afrobeat Project. During their time together, Allen recounts how he and partner, late music legend, Fela Kuti, created the Afrobeat genre in Lagos, Nigeria. This hybrid live-action/animated film is a snapshot illustrating Tony Allen's story.

Fela Kuti: Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense(1984)

A huge influence on world music, Nigerian artist Fela Kuti played many instruments, pioneered afrobeat music and served as a prominent activist for human rights in Africa. This 1984 documentary examines the life and music of the remarkable man. Using his music to raise awareness, Kuti embraced social justice themes. He died in 1997 of complications from AIDS. Footage from his legendary show in Glastonbury, England, is included.

Brincando com Maracatu(2021)

Aline Morales is one of the main broadcasters of Maracatu in Toronto. From a meeting with members of Recife's Maracatu Estrela Brilhante Nação, she and her traveling companions reflect deeply on the different aspects of this genre, beyond music.

Lock Down Love(2021)

Lisa, a plus-sized African American woman, concludes that her boyfriend broke up with her because of her weight. Now on quarantine lock down and alone, she will now use the next 40 days to try to lose the weight, in hopes of winning him back.

Awoko 70's(2020)

Afrobeat emerged in Lagos, Nigeria in the 1970s. The film follows an Afrobeat tube broadcast, from its early morning studio recording, to selling vinyl records and cassette tapes in town, into the evening where people dance feverishly to the music.

Les Guignols, les 10 premières années(1999)

A four-hour journey through the first ten years of Les Guignols. Cult sequences, historic sketches, reference expressions... offer sixty or so “Guignolized” personalities the opportunity to analyze the phenomenon or react to their puppets. Their impressions, shared with Gilles Verlant, punctuate the Night. All those who have made Les Guignols what they are today - Alain De Greef, the historical authors, puppet creator Alain Duverne, etc. - take the opportunity to reveal a few of their secrets.

Starmania(1990)

STARMANIA is a cyberpunk rock opera that premiered on stage in 1979. In the near future, most developed countries have merged. Zéro Janvier, CEO of the biggest corporation in "The Occident" (as the new Western state is known) is campaigning to become President on a platform vowing to eliminate the terrorist group The Black Stars and their leader Johnny Rockfort. He has convinced the Stars' information broker Sadia to secretly work for him, while also courting the retiring film star Stella Spotlight. Meanwhile, Johnny Rockfort plans to kidnap television sweetheart Cristal, but he falls in love with her instead. Overlooking all this is Marie-Jeanne, a waitress in the café where the Black Stars meet, and her friend Ziggy, an obsessive David Bowie fan whose dearest wish is to appear on Cristal's music program STARMANIA. The show recounts these entwined love stories set in parallel, touching also on themes of terrorism, totalitarianism, and an individual's right to decide his own destiny.

Anna Piaggi: Fashion Visionary(2016)

The world of fashion, between the end of the Sixties and the beginning of the Noughties, had a key character that embodied its spirit and told the tale: journalist Anna Piaggi, living witness of that contamination between art, society and culture that changed fashion and sanctioned its success on a global scale. The daughter of a manager for La Rinascente (Milan's iconic high-end shopping mall whose foundation goes back to 1865), Karl Lagerfeld's muse, "a poet with her clothes" in the words of Bill Cunningham, her life is retraced through interviews with designers (Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Stephen Jones, Manolo Blahnik, and more) together with archival images from four decades of fashion history.

Ted Williams(2009)

Born in 1918 in San Diego, Williams was a latchkey child from a broken home, raised by a mother more dedicated to the Salvation Army than to her two sons, and by a father who spent more time away from home than in it. Williams found salvation by doing the one thing he loved most: hitting baseballs. In his rookie season with the Red Sox, where he would spend his entire career as a player, Williams batted .327, socked 31 homers and led the league with 145 RBI. Over the next 21 years, despite losing five seasons of his prime to active service as a U.S. Marine Corps pilot, Williams hit 521 home runs, twice captured the Triple Crown, and became the oldest man ever to win a batting title. He finished his career with a .344 lifetime batting average, was the last man to hit over .400 in a full season, batting .406 in 1941, and was a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast(2017)

Irrepressible writer-comedian Carl Reiner, who shows no signs of slowing down at 94, tracks down celebrated nonagenarians, and a few others over 100, to show how the twilight years can truly be the happiest and most rewarding. Among those who share their insights into what it takes to be vital and productive in older age are Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Kirk Douglas, Norman Lear, Betty White and Tony Bennett.

The Black Man Who Had a White Soul(1951)

Peter Ward is a black singer who arrives to Madrid in 1907. He falls in love with Emma, and he offers her to be her dancer. She is restrained by her racial prejudices which will lead to an inevitable separation between them.

Return to Crystal Lake: Making 'Friday the 13th'(2003)

Diana!(1971)

Diana! is American singer Diana Ross' first solo TV special, which aired on ABC on April 18, 1971. The program was choreographed by David Winters of West Side Story fame, who at that time choreographed all of Ross' stage and TV shows. The special also featured appearances by Danny Thomas and Bill Cosby, plus performances by The Jackson 5, and also included Jackson 5 lead singer Michael Jackson's solo debut.

Post New Bills: The Story of Green Patriot Posters(2014)

A short documentary illustrating how art can influence public perception towards environmental issues. Green Patriot Posters is a highly acclaimed multimedia design campaign that challenges artists to deepen public understanding and ignite collective action in the fight against climate change. So far, it has reached five million people through print media, public space and digital culture. The film features interviews with key Green Patriot Posters contributors (Shepard Fairey, Michael Bierut, DJ Spooky, Mathilde Fallot) and its founders (The Canary Project, Dmitri Siegel).

Jim Norton: Mouthful of Shame(2017)

Fedoras, mom's underpants, and puppy love all make Jim Norton's s**t list in 'Mouthful of Shame'.

Prince - 4 Those Of U On Valium(1987)

A one-off performance recorded live at Paisley Park during rehearsals for the Sign O The Times Tour, March 21st 1987.

Prince and the Revolution: Parade LIVE(1986)

On June 7th, 1986, Prince celebrated his 28th birthday by performing for a packed crowd at Detroit’s Cobo Arena. The show was filmed and edited for later broadcast in Europe and Japan as promotion for his then-forthcoming 1986 Parade tour, which hit eight countries in less than a month. The Parade tour never officially hit the United States, with Prince deciding to test the show out on audiences in a handful of cities across the country before taking it abroad. Fortunately, videotapes of the Detroit show have been circulating amongst hardcore Prince collectors for years and have found their way onto the internet so you can witness what was arguably Prince’s funkiest tour to date.

Venezia(1960)

"A visual poem to the glory of Venice by the gifted young Venezuelan painter, with music by Vivaldi." –G. Weinberg