Posts published in “International”
(Photo from “Bruised” via TIFF)
According to Variety.com, Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry landed a $20 million distribution deal from Netflix for her directorial debut of “Bruised.”
Berry’s “Bruised,” still in the process of completion, is screening on Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival (virtually, of course). Berry also stars in the dramatic feature about “a washed-up MMA fighter struggling for redemption as both an athlete and a mother.”
The film was written by Michelle Rosenfarb. Producers on the project include Basil Iwanyk, Brad Feinstein, Guymon Casady, Erica Lee, Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Linda Gottlieb and Gillian Hormel.
As of yet there is no set release date for when the movie will appear on the streaming service.
Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther (Art by Marlon West)
by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)
With the passing of the great Chadwick Boseman, I am inclined to hold the playlist I made to share today until next week. I thought instead I’d share this playlist I created in celebration of Black Panther two years ago.
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I won’t say how many times I’ve seen the film, so far. Though I made this playlist by imagining what genius Princess Shuri would listen to in her lab.
It was made before the film grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide and broke numerous box office records, including the highest-grossing film by a Black director. Before it became the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time, the third-highest-grossing film in the U.S. and Canada, and the second-highest-grossing film of 2018.
I made before it received seven nominations at the 91st Academy Awards including Best Picture, with wins for Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. Black Panther is the first superhero film to receive a Best Picture nomination.
Director Ryan Coogler wrote of Boseman this weekend:
NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is now poised to be the first Black woman crew member of the International Space Station (ISS), according to sciencetimes.com.
On Tuesday, Epps was assigned to the NASA Boeing Starliner-1. The African-American aerospace engineer and astronaut will join the space administration’s first operational crewed flight for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, in a mission to the ISS.
To quote the Science Times article:
The Boeing Starliner-1 mission will be the first for Jeanette Epps. She first earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Le Moyne College, in her hometown of Syracuse, New York. She then completed her master’s degree in science and her doctorate in aerospace engineering, both from the University of Maryland.
While she was pursuing her master’s and doctorate, Epps received a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Project (GSRP) Fellowship grant, publishing several academic papers on the way. After her doctorate, she started working in a research lab with the Ford Motor Company for more than two years before moving to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where she was a technical intelligence officer for seven years.
In 2009, she was selected as a member of that year’s astronaut class. In January 2017, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps was assigned to be a part of Expeditions 56 and 57. She was set to fly into Earth’s orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. This was supposed to be the first long-duration ISS mission, including an African-American astronaut.
However, on January 16, 2018, NASA announced that Jeanette Epps would be reassigned to future missions, being replaced by her backup Serena M. Auñon-Chancellor. The reason for the reassignment was never officially explained.
There have been some Black Americans who have traveled to and from space, with a former fighter pilot and astronaut Guion Bluford being the first as a crew member of the 1983 Challenger. However, there has been no Black American assigned to live and work in space for more extended periods. The International Space Station has already seen 240 individuals across 395 spaceflights, since 2000.
Epps will be joining NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada.
https://twitter.com/Astro_Jeanette/status/1298765156298764288
Based on NASA’s current schedule, the first Black astronaut to live and work on the ISS will likely be Victor Glover, who is set to head there on the SpaceX Crew-1 mission on Oct. 23.
To read more: https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/27035/20200825/jeanette-epps-first-black-woman-join-iss-crew.htm
According to the goodnewsnetwork.com, The World Health Organization (WHO) is happily sharing the news that the African continent is finally free of the wild poliovirus, 24 years after former South Africa President Nelson Mandela helped Rotary International launch its Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign.
To quote the article:
“Today is a historic day for Africa, which has successfully met the certification criteria for wild polio eradication, with no cases reported in the region for four years,” said Professor Rose Gana Fomban Leke, who heads The African Regional Certification Commission for Polio eradication (ARCC).
The success comes after an exhaustive, decades-long process of documentation and analysis of polio surveillance and immunization of the region’s 47 member states, which included conducting field verification visits to each country.
n 1996, African leaders of every country committed to eradicate polio, at a time when the virus was paralyzing an estimated 75,000 children annually. While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through the administration of a simple and effective vaccine.
Mandela’s call that year mobilized African nations across the continent to step up their efforts to reach every child with the polio vaccine—and the last case of wild poliovirus was detected and defeated in 2016 in Nigeria.
Officials at WHO say the polio eradication efforts have prevented up to 1.8 million children from crippling life-long paralysis and saved approximately 180,000 lives.
“This is a momentous milestone for Africa. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild polio,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “This historic achievement was only possible thanks to the leadership and commitment of governments, communities, global polio eradication partners and philanthropists. I pay special tribute to the frontline health workers and vaccinators, some of whom lost their lives, for this noble cause.”
“Africa has demonstrated that despite weak health systems, significant logistical and operational challenges across the continent, African countries have collaborated very effectively in eradicating wild poliovirus,” said Dr Pascal Mkanda, Coordinator of WHO Polio Eradication in the African Region.
Tuesday’s announcement marks only the second eradication of a virus from Africa since smallpox was eliminated 40 years ago.
To read more: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/africa-finally-eradicates-wild-poliovirus/
by Jeff Meier (FB: Jeff.Meier.90)
Jamaican Independence Day is celebrated every August 6th in honor of the date in 1962 when Jamaica gained its independence from England after more than 300 years of British colonial rule.
On the heels of Jamaica’s independence, Jamaican ska music partially shifted to celebrate the country’s newfound freedoms, eventually paving the way for the birth of reggae music, which has been the driving force of the nation’s music since then.
To enjoy the evolution of those sounds, you can check out the GBN playlists we posted earlier this year – Celebrating The History and Evolution of Ska Music and Celebrating Reggae Songs of Struggle and Peace.
All you faithful Good Black News readers may also remember that just a few months ago we saluted the amazing Stevie Wonder with a month-long series of themed playlists (see below). Well, believe it or not, we still had a few additional Stevie playlists we never got to share with you in May. So today, in honor of Jamaican Independence Day, we are showcasing “Stevie Wonder Goes to Jamaica – Reggae Wonder Covers.”
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Although it’s hard to remember a time when iconic reggae superstar Bob Marley wasn’t universally known, back in 1974, when Stevie Wonder first issued the song “Boogie on Reggae Woman,” Marley had yet to really break through on the U.S. music charts – and not that many people knew what Stevie was talking about.
Always one to infuse his music with innovative sounds, in the final years of the seventies when Stevie acknowledged reggae yet again with the smash hit “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” – in which he detailed “From the park I hear rhythms / Marley’s hot on the box” – the world had finally caught up with Stevie’s vision.
Later, in 1982, Stevie even wrote and produced the big R&B/reggae crossover hit ‘Try Jah Love” for Jamaica superstars Third World.
While Stevie was relatively early to jump on reggae sounds, reggae music had actually jumped on Stevie Wonder sounds even earlier. A longtime tradition of reggae music – particularly in the “lovers rock” genre – is to remake popular US chart hits in a reggae style.
Wonder’s hits provided fertile territory. From the late 1960s, all the way up through contemporary times, Stevie’s own hits as well as his compositions for others have yielded dozens of reggae cover versions, whether ballads or uptempo, more modern dancehall sounds.
Today’s playlist kicks off with Stevie’s version of “Master Blaster” and his Third World composition before heading into covers from today’s most known reggae hitmakers such as Wayne Wonder, Tanya Stephens, Sly & Robbie, Maxi Priest, Bob Marley scion Stephen Marley, as well as such legends as John Holt, Desmond Dekker, Dennis Brown, Toots & the Maytals, and Lee Perry & the Upsetters.
Finally, in honor of the “birth” of Jamaica’s independence from colonial rule, we close with Barry Biggs’ reggae rendition of Stevie’s classic “Happy Birthday,” which Wonder famously composed to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as well as Black America’s fight for equal rights and justice.
Happy Birthday, Jamaica!
- GBN’S MERRY MONTH OF STEVIE: Jazz Visions of “Innervisions” (LISTEN)
- GBN’s MERRY MONTH OF STEVIE: Stevie Wonder’s “Talking Book” Speaks Again Through Its Covers (LISTEN)
- GBN’s MERRY MONTH OF STEVIE: Cover Songs In The Key Of Life (LISTEN)
- GBN’s Merry Month of Stevie: Celebrating the Wonders of Stevie’s Harmonica (LISTEN)
- MUSIC MONDAY: Desert Island Stevie Wonder – What 20 Songs Would You Bring? (LISTEN)
- MUSIC MONDAY: That’s What Friends Are For: Stevie Wonder Duets (LISTEN)
- MUSIC MONDAY: Stevie Wonder At The Movies (LISTEN)
- MUSIC MONDAY: Weekly Playlist From GBN – A Collection of Stevie Wonder Covers
- GBN’s Month of Stevie: Stevie Wonder’s Protest Music (LISTEN)
- Happy 70th Birthday To Ya, Stevie Wonder! (LISTEN)
- The Merry, Merry Month of Stevie: GBN Honors Stevie Wonder All Month in Celebration of His 70th on May 13 (LISTEN)
[Photo collage L to R, top then bottom: Florence Beatrice-Price, Julius Eastman, Scott Joplin, William Grant Still, Stewart Goodyear]
In a world that hasn’t always welcomed them with open arms, many of these performers, instrumentalists, and conductors shattered racial barriers on the concert stage and created landmark moments in classical music.
While you are likely familiar with the symphonic work of Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin, and William Grant Still, you probably don’t know Florence Beatrice-Price, Julius Eastman, and Stewart Goodyear.
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From the highly sophisticated instrumental musical forms, like the concerto, symphony and sonata, to spirituals, to the avant-garde, Black composers have made an impact on Classical music. Many of these artists languished in obscurity in life, and have been all but forgotten.
While other Black women and men are creating significant works of music right now. Here are some of the most influential Black voices in classical music history from the 18th century to today.
Enjoy. And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind.
by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)
Ska originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to reggae. It combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues.
Ska developed further in the 1960s when Prince Buster, Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, and Duke Reid formed “sound systems” to play American rhythm and blues and eventually recorded their own songs.
Most folks divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s; the 2 Tone ska revival of the ’70 & ‘80s, which fused ska rhythms with the faster tempos and harder edge of punk rock, and third wave, which involved bands from a wide range of countries around the world, in the 1990s.
RELATED: You Can Get It If You Really Want It: Reggae Songs of Struggle and Peace (LISTEN)
While primarily dance music, like reggae, ska music has often had social change on its mind. This collection spans all three “waves” and includes The Skatalites, Hortense Ellis, The Specials, Hepcat, and many other masters of the artform.
Do enjoy, and as always stay safe, sane, and kind.
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by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)
According to Variety.com, Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Old Guard,” “Beyond The Lights,” “Love & Basketball”) is set to direct “The Woman King,” starring Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis at TriStar Pictures.
The movie is being produced by Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions, Cathy Schulman’s Welle Entertainment, and Maria Bello of Jack Blue Productions.
To quote from Variety.com:
The film is a historical epic inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The story follows Nanisca (Davis), general of the all-female military unit, and her daughter Nawi, who together fought the French and neighboring tribes who violated their honor, enslaved their people and threatened to destroy everything they’ve lived for.
“We at JuVee are beyond excited to introduce this incredible story of the Women Warriors of The Dahomey Ahosi tribe to the world. It’s time that they truly occupy their place in history and in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s hands, it will be a gamechanger. This project could not be a more perfect example of our legacy,” said Davis and Tennon.
[Photo credits: Gina Prince-Bythewood via commons.wikipedia.org; Viola Davis by Dario Calmese]
[Photo credit: Fela Kuti by Leni Sinclair / Getty Images]
The roots of Afrobeat began in Ghana during the early 1920s. When musicians incorporated influences like the foxtrot and calypso with Ghanaian rhythms like osibisaba (Fante).
Nigerian artists later solidified the Afrobeat groove in the late ’60s led by Fela Kuti. The sound is a complex fusion of jazz, funk, soul, Ghanaian highlife, psychedelic rock and traditional West African chants and rhythms.
This playlist features Kuti, his longtime collaborator Tony Allen, and his sons Femi and Seun. Plus The Funkees, Antibalas, Angélique Kidjo, Chicago Afrobeat Project, William Onyeabor, The Lijadu Sisters, and many other originators and modern practitioners of the art.
Enjoy, and don’t even try to sit still while it’s on. Until next week, stay safe, sane, and kind.
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by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwestSpotify: marlonwest)