Under African Skies
| Year | 2012 |
| Director(s) | Joe Berlinger |
| Runtime | 108 min |
In Under African Skies director Joe Berlinger (Crude, Paradise Lost) travels back to South Africa with Paul Simon— his first trip back in 25 years, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the historic Graceland album and play a reunion concert. Despite its huge success and despite it being the first popular/successful example of fusing American and African musical styles, Graceland was initially met with tremendous political crossfire as Paul was accused of breaking the UN cultural boycott of South Africa designed to end the Apartheid regime. Paul Simon revisits these ghosts as the musical journey is explored. The film features interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Harry Belafonte, David Byrne, Philip Glass, Lorne Michaels, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones and Steve Van Zandt.
Archive footage in the film shows the exuberance of Paul Simon’s recording sessions with these musicians 25 years ago and their excitement of the world hearing their music for the first time on a commercial scale. Paul’s interest in black South African music and rhythms from a purely artistic perspective put him in the crosshairs of the international political maelstrom of cultural and economic boycotts of apartheid-era South Africa. Alternating between present day conversations and footage of the past, interspersed with lots of the infectious, familiar songs that are the legendary Graceland album, this film is a reminder of not just the amazing music of Paul Simon and the South African musicians, but the context of the times during which it was created.
A few scenes of South African anti-apartheid violence. Brief strong language.