When you can t be heard, music can be your voice. EXECUTIVE GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA BALINRAN AND DO PRODUCTIONS PRESENT A BRIGITTE BERMAN FILM RED SOUL PRODUCERS PAUL BRENNAN PETER CASTALDI DIRECTOR OF ASSOCIATE ORIGINAL MUSIC PRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID GREGAN PRODUCER DANIEL VINK SONGS BY SIPHO MABUSE JUDY MOWATT TONY MINNIECON SUPERVISOR BENJAMIN HUNTER BY BRIGID OLEN CRAIG THOMPSON PRODUCED BY STUART SCOWCROFT BENJAMIN HUNTER REZSO BODONYI DIRECTED BY BRIGITTE BERMAN
In the spirit of Buena Vista Social Club and Search For Sugarman, EastWest-Filmdistribution presents RED SOUL, a feature documentary by Academy Award winning director Brigitte Berman. Australian Aboriginal soul singer and community leader Tony Minniecon, iconic South African musician Sipho Mubuse, and Jamaican reggae queen Judy Mowatt, have a mission to search out the roots of songs that connect African American soul music with the genesis of indigenous protest, and spiritual and cultural awakening, in other parts of the world and to bring it to life by creating an album of new music with musicians from the era in soul music s spiritual home, Ardent Studios in Memphis, and perform a concluding concert and through this truly unique blend of cultures and musical styles celebrate deep connections to a shared experience, expressed through the talents and stories of these three artists and their collaborators. Duration: 100 minutes Format: Feature Documentary
This music must be made before it cannot be made again. JODY STEPHENS, ARDENT STUDIOS, MEMPHIS. From Academy Award winning director Brigitte Berman comes Red Soul, a film that documents the musical, cultural and spiritual journeys of three extraordinary artists, one from Australia, one from South Africa and one from Jamaica as they write and record new music in the US with American artists and musicians whose spirit and sound infused the music of protest and change in the Civil Rights era. For many indigenous peoples across the globe the American Civil Rights struggle was like a mirror of their struggles. It was music from another part of the world, songs of power, of protest, and of persuasion, that was unknowingly providing a soundtrack to their own battles with oppression and discrimination. With the full support of one of America s most revered recording studios, Ardent in Memphis, Tennessee, Red Soul follows once in a lifetime creative collaborations on a new music, songs that speak of healing, shared kinship, and deep connections with the African diaspora. As Ardent s manager Jodie Stephens (from seminal band Big Star) says, With so many of the most important contributors to the music of the Civil Rights era now in the twilight of their years, this music must be made before it cannot be made again. Set this new, soul-infused music, Red Soul also looks at the influence that the messages of Dr Martin Luther King and others had on rights struggles in other lands. And the film explores many incredible stories and connections the first Aboriginal broadcasting service, CAAMA, inspired by the radio media achievements of Afro-Americas, and supported by the legendary Eartha Kitt; the oasis that Memphis legendary Stax Records became for both black and white musicians fighting 1960s segregation; soul music s spiritual underpinnings blending with ska and rocksteady to inform the birth of Jamaican reggae; and the points of contact between the feel of African American soul music and the philosophy that became know as Black Consciousness. Spanning history and culture, Red Soul celebrates a never to be repeated collaboration a musical fusion of the spirits of Aboriginal Australians, South Africans and Jamaicans, with the fire in the African American soul, created by three very different artists and the musicians who inspired them for a lifetime. FROM TOP: Tony Minniecon, Judy Mowatt with the I-Threes, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Ardent Studios, Booker T and the MGs.
It s like meeting your children for the first time. THE MUSIC. MARVELLE THOMAS, PRODUCER, STAX RECORDS. Helming the once-in-a-lifetime Red Soul album will be Keith Thomas, a Grammy-winning record producer and songwriter with an astonishing 40 US Billboard #1s to his credit. The new songs will be central to the film s soundtrack. Feature documentaries around music, such as 2013 s 20 Feet From Stardom and Muscle Shoals, never fail to draw high profile collaborators and interviewees. But as a truly international film and recording project, Red Soul stands alone in its ability to attract musical royalty. Part of the excitement of watching this recording unfold will be seeing the faces of Sipho, Judy and Tony as stars of music some of them directly responsible for music that inspired them arrive at Ardent Studios to contribute to the album. The finale of the film will a concert where the Red Soul album will be performed for the first time at The Daisy in Memphis, with the songs just weeks old. There will be many magical moments for audiences to savour. THE MARKETING. Because of the multi-media nature of the project, Red Soul delivers a huge number of valuable promotional assets, musical and visual, to share with fans and filmgoers, and assist in audience build. The aim of the producers is to identify and engage with fans of the musical styles represented in Red Soul, all over the world, from the moment production starts, and deliver valuable digital content to them throughout production, post production, and pre and post release. This content will include interviews with contributing artists and musicians, a comprehensive making of the album video series, a music video for every track on the album, and bonus tracks and alternative mixes for hard core fans. Judy, Sipho and Tony will also use Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to constantly update fans on the project. Selected songs from the Red Soul album will made available for limited free download before the official album release, and the album and lead single releases will be timed to maximise the promotional run up to theatrical and broadcast screenings. FROM TOP: Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Keith Thomas, Judy Mowatt, Tony Minniecon, Stax Records in the early 1960s.
Director: BRIGITTE BERMAN Short Biography Brigitte Berman is an Academy Award -winning producer/director/ writer who was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and graduated from Queen s University, Kingston, Ontario, where she studied English and Film. Subsequently she received her B.Ed. in English and Theatre Arts. She has worked in the film and television industry for over twenty years, producing and directing more than one hundred documentaries, both independently, and at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. With her independent production company, Bridge Film Productions Inc., she produced two feature documentaries ARTIE SHAW: Time Is All You ve Got and BIX: Ain t None Of Them Play Like Him Yet that have been showcased at many International Film Festivals. ARTIE SHAW: Time is All You ve Got won her the Oscar for Best Feature Documentary, and BIX: Ain t None Of Them Play Like Him Yet won the prestigious Bronze Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. Most recently, Brigitte wrote and directed the 2009 feature documentary HUGH HEFNER: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Producers: GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA Stuart Scowcroft, Rez Bodonyi, Benjamin Hunter www.globalentertainment.com.au BALLINRAN ENTERTAINMENT Craig Thompson www.ballinran.com DO PRODUCTIONS Brigid Olën www.doproductions.com Production Schedule: October 2015 > December 2015 : Financing. January 2016 > April : Pre-production. April 2016 > July 2016 : Shooting. August 2016 > December 2016: Post-production. February 2017 : Theatrical release, Australia and South Africa. February 2017 : Market presentation at the Berlinale.
DIRECTOR S VISION. I have always been passionate about music in my documentaries. Over the years my films have focused on early jazz music, swing, classical music, reggae and folk music. When I made my feature documentary about the other side of Hugh Hefner showing how he influenced America socially, politically and culturally, I featured musical performances from his critically acclaimed television shows and his annual Playboy Jazz Festivals to illustrate the Hefner s strong commitment to breaking down social and racial barriers throughout the 60s and early 70s. Since then I have looked for a project that would combine the rich emotional roots of music with the drive for social and political change and will reveal how the past, present and future connect through music to achieve this change. Music, a universal language, has historically played a major role in inspiring, mobilizing and giving voice to political and social movements. Soul music in particular, originating in the US, was extremely influential during the period of the civil rights movement. As aptly expressed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying. This is what I am excited to explore and capture in the making of the feature documentary RED SOUL. The film s inspiring story about a people s message of defiance and hope, as told by three soul artists from very different parts of the world united by a common struggle, inspired and motivated me to direct this unique project. In this film I will be integrating the live performances and musical elements with an overall narrative that is cultural, historical and political. In this film I plan to push creative boundaries, to combine images and sound in fresh and innovative ways so that the final film will be original, surprising and entertaining, resulting in a musical mosaic that bridges the past with the present and reveals how new values and ideas as expressed by the music of these three artists is able to transform not only a culture but society itself. I will push the envelope by innovatively juxtaposing unusual and often paradoxical elements with images and voices that have not been seen or heard before. In this way I will bring alive not only an album of new musical performances, but will also create a tapestry of fresh revelations. I will work with a sound design specialist and we will create unusual sound connections to drive the emotions evoked by images, even deeper. In this way we will be able to combine image and sound in unique and innovative ways so that the final film will be as original as both its subject matter and the musical artists whose music will continue to resonate in and haunt the hearts and minds of the audience. Thus, just as music is universal and can bring together people separated by borders, language, race and culture, so the message of our film is a universal one, articulating that race is not a reason for discrimination, that societies can look beyond prejudice to reconciliation, that there are reasons to celebrate rather than to condemn. The songs and lyrics of the musicians performances will become an essential part of the storytelling, e.g. the yearning, the hopes and dreams as expressed in All Over The World, one of the songs specifically written for the film, are simple yet they deliver a powerful punch: We walk together through our day and night For our own human right Some live better and some not at all It s not too far to fall The song will be performed live and intercut with images and speaking voices that will deepen the message and strengthen the emotional effect. Or the emotion, hope and inspiration as expressed in the song The Journey Home :
DIRECTOR S VISION. (continued) The spirit child that walked this land Before something else took a hold of our souls Believe it when I say we can heal it The darkness, the loneliness All I know is you ll never be alone Many of us walked this road on our journey home Look up and see those souls walking free Shining in a river of stars Look up and see everything you can be. The feelings expressed here are shared by people around the world as they aspire to bring about personal fulfillment and social change. Through songs like The Journey Home, the film will connect not only with the roots of soul music, but also with the inspiring stories of activists and leaders of social and political movements whose voices continue to inspire and need to be heard all over again in our world today. This will be supported by the recollections of contemporary interviews and intercut with visuals, both contemporary and archival, to underline the powerful longing and striving for a better world. Or, the song Barefeet In The Palace, paying homage to Alice Walker, the American author and activist who wrote The Color Purple : Every woman knows It s a long road, takes a long time It s a hard deal on the front line Still it s a wonderland, Alice Go barefeet in the palace They won t hear you When you walk up from behind Alice Walker herself embodies an extraordinary story of revolution, survival and triumph, a passionate activist and defender of all human beings whose personal story will be told in the documentary. As the lyrics of each song build to emotional peaks in the performances by individual artists, they are further highlighted visually by illuminating metaphors and underscored by voices that express the past that shaped us and the future that we continue to fight for. In this way, as the treatment expresses: The story [of the film] is grounded in the process of creating the album the musical journey as the production evolves. It becomes a metaphor for the personal journeys of our key characters and the big-picture, social transformation that was both a reflection and, in part, a consequence of the music. I have made several successful films examining the lives of musicians in depth, while at the same time highlighting the social and historical contexts in which each person lived. Variety called my Oscar-winning ARTIE SHAW: Time Is All You ve Got, a riveting look-back at both the big band era and one of its burning lights... Berman retained editorial control and the result is a swinging odyssey... smartly edited. The LA Times called my film an engrossing portrait of the most interesting of all the big band leaders... she has captured for all time the outspoken, idiosyncratic, occasionally irascible and rebellious Artie Shaw. In the same way I plan to capture the stories and the music of these extraordinary soul musicians. I began my film career as an editor and editing is a integral part of the process that I really enjoy. In fact, it s in the creative editing that the best and strongest documentaries are achieved. This documentary is an editor s dream because I have at my disposal an amazingly rich diversity of fascinating material that will inspire me to create a documentary of great artistry. My style of story telling has always dealt with the human spirit within the intimacy of a personal story while at the same time incorporating the greater narrative of events in a wider historical and social perspective. RED SOUL, featuring a music that innately stirs the heart and the soul, will craft a rich and impassioned story of the human spirit. Brigitte Berman Director, Red Soul