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Finding Fela, film review: Alex Gibney celebrates pioneer of Afrobeat's formidable powers

(15) Alex Gibney, 120 mins Starring: Fela Kuti

Geoffrey Macnab
Thursday 04 September 2014 23:29 BST
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Fela died in the late 1990s but Gibney has assembled plenty of footage of him
Fela died in the late 1990s but Gibney has assembled plenty of footage of him

The prolific Alex Gibney turns out documentaries at an industrial rate. Fresh from his recent film about the disgrace of Lance Armstrong, he has now turned his attention to the African musician Fela Kuti, the pioneer of Afrobeat.

Gibney celebrates Kuti's formidable powers both as a musician and as a human rights campaigner in Nigeria.

The talking heads expressing their admiration for Fela include everybody from Paul McCartney (who describes seeing Fela as "one of the most amazing musical experiences of my life") to his collaborators and childhood friends.

Fela died in the late 1990s but Gibney has assembled plenty of footage of him performing, and he makes a convincing case for him as both a political and a musical visionary (and a relentless womaniser).

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