“Twenty Feet from Stardom” – the movie. I saw this wonderful
film at the Angelika Film Center at Houston and Mercer in the Village last night. This film has it all… all the magic buttons including glamour, beauty, drama, mean-nasty dishonest producers and promoters, heartbreak, disappointments, awesome talent, great music, and the eventual triumph against long odds… and just in case I didn’t stress it enough, awesome talent and great music!
“Twenty Feet from Stardom” is a film about the real lives and careers of the (predominantly Black women) back-up singers who we have been hearing as anonymous voices for years on all of the pop and rock music recordings since the early sixties in the United States. These singer/dancers exist in the netherworld between the big star attraction and the band. They belong to both and yet they
belong to neither. They are the background…the fill…yet they both frame and animate the picture. They contribute mightily to the musical sound and to the visual pageantry…yet they are never identified either before or after the performance. We don’t know their names.
“Twenty Feet From Stardom” names them. This movie gives them a face.. and an individual voice. This film features the individual musical careers of Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, Tata Vega, Jo Lowry, and Claudia Lenear. We hear their individual solo voices … the angelic tone and otherworldly power. I mean these ladies can SING!!
Darlene Love spent several years in the early sixites recording as a back-up singer for Phil Spector’s productions. Ultra-
talented, independent and secure enough to fight back when mistreated. When she found Phil Spector cheating she once walked out of the studio leaving an executed contract on the table. She eventually successfully sued Phil Spector to recover some of the royalties owed to her. She toured with Elvis Presley, sang back-up with, Sam Cooke, Cher and Aretha Franklin. She worked as back-up singer with Dionne Warwick for ten years. Darlene Love played Danny Glover’s wife in the Lethal Weapons movies and has recently been inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame.
Born on Christmas Day in New Orleans Merry Clayton’s voice is heard on many pop and rock songs of the sixties. Her singing career began at the age of thirteen when she sang a duet with
Bobby Darren on “Who can I Turn To”. She is best known for the duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stone’s hit Gimmie Shelter. Merry Clayton has toured with Ray Charles as one of the Raylettes, been back-up singer for Joe Cocker, Tom Jones and Carole King. She has been back-up for Pearl Bailey, Phil Ochs, Burt Bacharach, and Neil Young. Merry Clayton originated the role of the Acid Queen in the original London production of “The Who’s Tommy”. Merry Clayton co-starred with Ally Sheedy in the 1987 film Maid to Order. In film Merry Clayton sang “You’re Always There When I Need You,” the title song for the first Get Smart movie The Nude Bomb which starred Don Adams. Merry Clayton sang the song “Yes” in Dirty Dancing. Merry Clayton recorded back-up vocals for and sang the infamous ‘Man with the Golden Gun’ bridge on Tori Amos‘ hit, “Cornflake Girl“. Merry Clayton, this proverbial ‘strong Black woman’ is a diva in the best sense of the word.
Lisa Fischer is considered to be one of the most successful session vocalists of the era. Lisa began her career working as back-up singer with Melba Moore, and Billy Ocean. She later
toured as back-up singer for Luther Vandross until his death. She has toured with Tina Turner including the Twenty Four Seven Tour, Chaka Khan, Teddy Pendergrass, and Roberta Flack. Lisa Fischer earned a Grammy for her hit single How Can I Ease the Pain in 1991. Lisa Fischer has accompanied The Rolling Stones on every tour since 1989! Lisa Fischer – Likable, Lovable, and a very intensely focused entertainer ‘par exellence’.
Judith Hill, the daughter of professional musicians, wrote her first song at 4 years old. She has sung back-up for Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Josh Grobin, Stevie Wonder and Elton
John. Judith Hill wrote music for Spike Lee’s film Red Hook Summer and was and outstanding contestant on The Voice. Judith Hill is perhaps best know as Michael Jackson’s choice as a duet partner for his ‘This is It’! tour. Michael Jackson unfortunately died before the tour started. Judith Hill sang the tribute at Michael Jackson’s memorial in Los Angeles. Judith Hill is ‘up and coming’ in a very complex world…bouncing back from a big disappointment.
Tata Vega has worked as back-up singer with Stevie Wonder,
Andre Crouch, Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, and Madonna. Tata Vega sang lead on the Oscar nominated song for the movie The Color Purple.
Claudia Lennear worked with many acts including Ike and Tina Turner, Humble Pie and Joe Cocker. She was part of a trio of backup singers for Delaney and Bonnie, that also included Rita Coolidge. Claudia Lennear’s meetings with Mick Jagger and David Bowie are often cited as inspiration for The Rolling Stones‘ “Brown Sugar“ and Bowie’s “Lady Grinning Soul“. Claudia Lennear was one of Leon Russell‘s Shelter People. She sang back-up vocals on Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and live album, on Leon Russell and the Shelter People, and on George Harrison‘s The Concert for Bangla Desh. Claudia Lennear had
a bit part in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. Claudia Lennear appeared in the August 1974 issue of Playboy magazine in a pictorial titled “Brown Sugar”. Claudia Lennear left the music industry to become a spanish teacher.
These women are among the better known back-up singers in the industry but they are representative of a very large and largely hidden group of immensely talented people who make the entertainment industry work. They are essentially free lancers in that they may or may not get a call on a given night to perform with Mick Jagger, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder or any of the major acts in the business either for studio work at recording sessions or for concerts and tours…but when they are called they complete the scene and the sound at virtually every rock concert or studio recording made.
They have given us so much happiness and joy over the years with almost no recognition…and now “Twenty Feet from Stardom” has identified them to us and given us their names and the wonderful sound of their individual voices!!
Director Morgan Neville has done a beautiful job of telling the real life story of these beautiful and very talented singer/dancers, who rarely get individual exposure, appreciation, or acclaim. The
commentary by Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger, Sting, Luther Vandross and the other giants in the industry. This film sheds real light on the way the industry stars appreciate the talent and the work of the back-up singer/dancers thus showing a very human and otherwise unseen side of these superstar artists.
The film is a great window into the lives of all the back-up singers and dancers who work incredibly hard for relatively little money to make musical productions work magnificently. To a larger point this film depicts a fantastic group of women each of whom make an excellent role model for depiction of real world character, strength, resilience, and the ability to deal with the realities that life presents to all of us!
THE WEST” opened a few months ago with attendance by scholars, artists, writers, and students from throughout the Western World. Hosted by three centers of art and education in the city of Paris the homogenous blend of art and architecture provided the perfect atmosphere. The conference centered on the 111 papers presented by distinguished scholars in 19 panels over a four day period to an audience of over 500 attendees from Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and the Caribbean.
is represented and has been represented historically in visual and performance arts in the West. The view of the evolution of these various representations of the Black Body provides an unequaled depiction of the progress that has been made from the distant past to the present. More profoundly however, the ability to meet, share, and discuss these representations allows one to clearly see points, times, and places where intervention is urgently required to provide corrections to the historical narrative. As data has become more![registration Portraiture[s]](https://i0.wp.com/www.theactivescreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/registration-Portraitures.jpg?resize=300%2C186)
readily available to this rapidly growing community it is increasingly possible to turn intellectual and other resources to the objective study and examination of the historical data. This process and these discussions make graphically evident how racial bias and bigotry has systematically caused misrepresentations and distortions of reality and thereby negatively influenced the visual representation of The Black Body. Objective scholarship focused on the re-examination of the historical narrative as it pertains to representations of the Black Body is required to ‘set the record straight’ and to provide a sound basis for the intercultural discussions that must take place with the wider world if there is to be a better future.
an effort to support this continuing conversation I propose to profile each of the panel participants from the conference by providing some background and a brief discussion of each panel topic as presented at the conference.
was in transition towards independence. Barnor’s early portraitures and street photographs provide a visual history of the development of Ghana from the colonial period through independence and into the modern era. This early work covers the birth of Ghana and includes photographs of Kwame Nkrumah, the future president of Ghana , The Duchess of Kent, Richard Nixon, Andrew Young and many other politicians who visited Ghana in that period.
Lifestyle’ genre. During this period London was rapidly becoming a center for a new cultural revolution. Music, art, and fashion took the city by storm. The fashion world was ablaze and models were making millions. There was little interest however in the black lifestyle. Unable to get work as models notwithstanding black women were major trendsetters on London streets in their mini skirts, high heels and hair styles. 
inception in Johannesburg in the early 50’s, to become one of the most widely read magazines in Africa. Drum was very interested in photographs with black models and news about Africans generally. Barnor had done work for Drum in Ghana and had contacts there.
addicted to a lifestyle that included heavily chromed american cars, jazz music, and freedom. The magazine developed a reputation for dealing with social issues that affected black people in South Africa. The work that these writers and photographers produced at Drum changed the way that Black people were represented in society. Drum has been described by photographer 
Black writers, photographers, and their models. During this period (the ‘London period’) Barnor recruited, discovered and photographed models to fill this demand. As the fight against apartheid intensified the editors of Drum were forced to resign under pressure from the National
Police or to leave the Country to escape arrest. Drum magazine virtually disappeared for a time. The ANC ultimately succeeded in abolishing apartheid with the establishment of a new government. Drum has since reestablished itself and is now once again one of the leading magazines on the continent.
Mr. Barnor has spent 63 years of his life creating and helping others to create representations of the Black Body. His work, its impact and consequences are loud testimony to the importance of the quality of the representations that are made. It was a pleasure to meet and talk to him at the Black Portraitures conference.
fascinating concept of ‘cloud filmmaking’ to make a beautiful documentary film in collaboration with thousands of filmmakers from across the globe, all communicating and submitting content from their respective cultures through the Internet. Tiffany’s company scripted the scenario, edited the work, and produced the film. The resulting film the ‘Declaration of Interdependence’ was then resubmitted to the original content generators who translated the film into dozens of different languages to be shared throughout the world!! The filmmaking style that characterises her ‘cloud film’ can be seen in her award winning autobiographical documentary “Connected” which is now available on ITunes. Tiffany makes use of film, still photos,
graphics, and animation to focus on those things that cultures share as human…things that connect and tie the cultures together rather than divide and drive them apart.
members during his talk. Lance Weiler is a storyteller, entrepreneur and thought leader. He is recognized as a pioneer because of the way he mixes storytelling and technology. Lance has designed experiences that have reached millions of people via theaters, mobile devices and online. Lance sits on two World Economic Forum steering committees; one focused on the Future of Content Creation and the other examines the role of Digital Media in Shaping Culture & Governance. Lance teaches at Columbia University on the art, craft and business of storytelling in the 21st Century.
that asks “What does it mean to play games?” Warren says that video games don’t offer pseudo-experiences, they offer real experiences through detailed narratives. From inside the video game industry, he discusses how we need to view video games as art and build a culture of thought around the video game experience.
Actor’s Coalition. She curates, writes about, speaks on, and is an avid player of videogames. Her recent projects include Skulls of the Shogun, Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Speckled Band with the live-theater radio drama company Gotham Radio Theatre, and Waiting for the End of the World, an upcoming feature film from Matthew Esolda.
foundation that champions vital stories, artfully told. Created and led by young philanthropists, entrepreneurs and filmmakers, Cinereach has supported fiction and nonfiction filmmakers from all over the world through its Productions, Grants & Awards and Fellowships initiatives, and through partnerships with Sundance Institute’s programs. Cinereach has supported close to 120 films in the US and internationally, including Circumstance, Pariah, The World Before Her, Planet of Snail, Girl Model, Code of the West and many more. Cinereach Production’s Beasts of the Southern Wild was released in the US in 2012 by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
m in 2007. He’s worked on projects for companies as varied as Adult Swim, Footlocker, and the British government. He’s also been involved with a number of independent games such as the early web-based social game Casablanca, the street game Search Brigade, and most recently a tower defense game for the iPhone called Critter Defense.
storytelling is a medium where the narrative, and its evolution, can be influenced in real-time by a user. For a given plot there are many potential outcomes depending upon decisions made by the players during the game. Sound Familiar? In interactive fiction adventure games players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Literary works that are read in a nonlinear fashion are sometimes used as game books. The reader is given opportunities to make decisions at different points in the text. These decisions determine the flow and outcome of the story. These games contrast considerably with the Action Game genre although the two genre are sometimes combined. Great writing combined with the technological skills to develop and work on a digital platform in the cloud could produce some completely new entertainment vehicles as the field evolves.
producing excellent work to support this status. His work has been awarded dozens of major international and national honours including one 2012 Webby Award for Gods Lake, two 2011 Webby Awards for Welcome to Pinepoint, the 2010 Webby Award for Best Online Documentary programme for Waterlife and Best Cross Platform program for The Test Tube at the 2009 Canadian New Media Awards. In 2012 Dao led a team at the National Film Bank in producing “Bear 71”. This film may well turn out to be a seminal work in the digital transmedia interactive story telling genre. The film has been a huge hit. “Bear 71” is an excellent example of the power and potential of interactive digital media in story telling.
At the Tribeca Film Institute Interactive Forum Loc Dao provided a sneak peak of ‘Circa 1948’ by Stan Douglas, a 3D historical augmented reality app that captures the stories and architecture of a transitional post-war era Canada.
world of performing artists who have hidden in plain sight. Beyond the known map of the city’s famous music scene are the vibrant musical margins, the front porches, backyards, dive bars, churches and community centers where people make music. 
your personal life? Did you lose a job, go back to school, do things you never thought you’d be doing? What is that like? 
documentarian who has lived in Beijing, Baltimore and Brooklyn. She now lives in Boston, where she is the Producer of Planet Takeout, a participatory documentary project on the role of Chinese takeouts as vital cultural crossroads in diverse Boston neighborhoods. 
based stories enabled in art by a custom-built booth ‘the story tunnel’ inspiring mobile listening and contributions. Erica Mu and Audrey Dilling look for place related stories surrounding one of six themes – Work, Food, Play, Love, Worship and Create. As a pop-up radio project the ‘story tunnel’ gets around. Participants can make appointments or just show up and join in.
man camps, and crossroads of North Dakota’s oil rush through a series of lively multimedia pieces. Nathina St. Pierre had to take a gun to fight off the unwanted male advances. Stan Reep has to fight to keep the rights for the oil under his property. This is just two of the stories found by Black Gold Boom reporter Todd Melby in his exploration of the oil boom in western North Dakota.
CEO/co-founder of Zeega has quickly enabled film makers across the world to create non-linear, online stories without the need for a degree in computer programming. In this 10-minute presentation, Jesse Shapins lay out a collaborative manifesto for web-documentary. Zeega is very active in multiplatform collaborations that have produced important work at the interface of technology, media, and the internet. 
Documentary represents a universal struggle shared by rural communities across the United States by focusing on one of the hardest hit areas: Southern West Virginia. Intimate documentary portraits reveal the faces behind the statistics of McDowell County an area plagued with deep stereotypes, poverty, youth exodus, loss of population and high unemployment as they continue to live, work and enjoy life in their community. Like many post-industrial communities across the country, McDowell County, W. Va., is struggling to survive. Through Hollow, the Appalachian community represents themselves and their challenges as they see fit. Hollow combines video portraits, interactive data visualizations, social media and user-generated content delivered on an HTML5 website to support engagement and inspire change. 
male identity in America. Through video mediated question and answer exchange facilitated through strategic digital channels, diverse members of this “demographic” bridges economic, political, geographic, and generational divisions. Question Bridge provides a safe setting for necessary, honest expression and healing dialogue on themes that divide, unite and puzzle black males in the United States. Artist Chris Johnson originated Question
Bridge in 1996 when he was looking for a way to use media art to generate a conversation around class and generational divisions within San Diego’s African American community. Question Bridge: Black Males was created by Chris Johnson, Hank Willis Thomas, Bayete Ross-Smith, and Kamal Sinclair. The exhibition opened in 2011 at Sundance and has continues it’s tour of the United States opening in a new venue virtually every month or two since then. 
it their own or the voyage of a relative in the past. As the topic of immigration divides communities across the country, our shared history can create commonality between recent immigrants and those whose families have lived in the U.S. for generations. Immigrant Nation will use documentary film, user-generated storytelling, and data visualization to provide a social space for communities to share and connect with their immigrant histories. 
