NFB Collection
United States of Africa
201147 min 58 secFilm: Documentary
Direction: Yanick Létourneau
Production: Yanick Létourneau (Périphéria Productions inc.)Colette Loumède (National Film Board of Canada)
Script: Yanick LétourneauSébastien TétraultHany Ouichou
Produced by Périphéria Productions Inc. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada with the financial participation of Crédit d'impôt cinéma et télévision - Gestion SODEC, the SODEC, Rogers Documentary Fund, CMF-FMC, Heritage Canada and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, in association with Super Channel, with the collaboration of Télé-Québec, SABC 1, Documentary Channel, and Radio-Canada, and developed with the assistance of CBC.
African hip hop pioneer Didier Awadi is on a quest to craft an album that
pays tribute to the great black revolutionary leaders and their struggle to
realize a dream: a united, independent Africa. In this epic musical and
political journey, Awadi visits some 40 countries to collaborate with hip hop
activist artists, including Smockey (Burkina Faso), M-1 of Dead Prez (United
States) and ZuluBoy (South Africa).
Featuring a score by Ghislain Poirier, as well as Awadi’s own songs, United
States of Africa draws the viewer into one artist’s profound
meditation on the power of music and the impact of political engagement—both
individual and collective. A hopeful and compelling portrait of a continent
whose politically aware youth is refusing to accept the role of victim, the
film is a call for Africans to rise up, take a stand and take control of their
continent and their destiny.
Availability
Subject categories
- Developing Countries > AfricaArts and CultureSocial Change
- Music > Foreign CountriesMusical Expressions
- Social Issues > Identity and SurvivalSocial Change
- Social Studies > Contemporary IssuesSocial History
- Arts Education > Music
- Media Education > Popular Culture
Credits
- director
- Yanick Létourneau
- participant
- Didier Awadi
- Smockey
- M 1
- Zuluboy
- producer
- Yanick Létourneau
- Colette Loumède
- writer
- Yanick Létourneau
- Sébastien Tétrault
- Hany Ouichou
- cinematography
- Geoffroy Beauchemin
- Alex Margineanu
- sound
- René Portillo
- editing
- Sophie Farkas Bolla
- original music
- Ghislain Poirier
- sound design
- Marie-Claude Gagné
- associate producer
- John Christou
- Hany Ouichou
- Neil Brandt
- Maryse Chapdelaine
- production manager
- Hany Ouichou
- John Christou
- narrator
- Didier Awadi
- archives research
- Michèle Garceau
- researcher
- Stefanie Brantner
- Ellen Tang
- Angelica Leminh
- Erika Gutt
- Marisa Berry Mendez
- Myriam Cadet
- Kate Langley
- production coordinator
- Nyambura Waruingi
- Clarisse Saint-Hillaire
- Jean Fugazza
- Ellen Tang
- Loreley Yeowart
- Hélène Regimbal
- Dominique Brunet
- production assistant
- Mouhamet Diakaté
- Bouba
- Thurlo Basil Jansen
- Jarred Beaton
- Bernard April
- Isaiah Mpepele
- additional camera
- Manuel Lapierre
- Yanick Létourneau
- Trevor
- additional sound recording
- Pablo Villegas
- Thierry Morlaas
- Stephen Bowen Anderson
- additional editing
- Victor Simoneau-Helwani
- editing consultant
- Diego Briceno
- assistant editor
- Marlène Poulin
- Abraham Lifshitz
- Mariano Franco
- Ellen Tang
- Jimmy Medelin
- opening title sequence
- George Fok
- graphic design
- Pierre-Luc Gagnon
- art department
- Phoebe Greenberg
- George Fok
- Vincent Toi
- Pierre-Luc Gagnon
- JF Mayrand
- Renata Morales
- Marie-France Barbier
- administrator
- Johanne Dubuc
- administrative assistant
- Lise Lévesque
- technical coordinator
- Richard Cliche
- development producer
- Christian Medawar
- development executive producer
- Yves Bisaillon
- on-line technical support
- Danielle Raymond
- Isabelle Painchaud
- Pierre Dupont
- mix
- Geoffrey Mitchell
- Luc Léger
- studio recording
- Geoffrey Mitchell
- Luc Léger
- additional studio recording
- Sébastien Blais-Monpetit
- voice over coach
- Hubert Fielden
- Thor Bishopric
- translation
- Daniel Isaiah Schacter
- Mark Honronzyk
- André Ouadba
- online editor
- Denis Gathelier
- colorist
- Denis Gathelier
- titles
- Gaspard Gaudreau
- legal advisor
- Remy Khouzam
- production accountant
- Lucie Poulin
- Audrey Lamontagne
- production insurance
- Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc.