Dear Reader
Did you miss me? Because I missed you! I’d gotten so used to sending out this email daily and so it felt a little out-of-the-ordinary to not be doing so for the past two days. But I hope the distance made your heart grow fonder, ha!
Things are still unsettling. I am talking about the pandemic, yes — we are moving closer towards “re-opening” so there is a weird kind of energy in the air, part of which comes from the air starting to get warmer here in New York and the pent-up anticipation people have to want to be able to enjoy the coming summer.
Beyond the pandemic, though, other unsettling — disturbing — things continue to happen. The news headlines of outright racism make it seem like we’re just not getting anywhere as a society. I wrote this piece for CNN in the wake of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder, the 25-year-old black man who was shot while running, one afternoon in February. Even though this is an entertainment-based newsletter, I’m sharing this because dealing with racism is important and affects every area of life. We benefit from so many aspects of black culture in the things we listen to, read, watch and enjoy. These are the things, too, that can help bridge the divide, if we let them. Or at least, I can only hope so.
Here is today, and this weekend’s, list of entertainment options for your online viewing:
1. The We Are One Film Festival slate has been announced. From tomorrow, a selection of films from the fest will stream exclusively on YouTube for free, with over 100 films co-curated by 21 of the most renowned festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Toronto and the Tribeca Film Festival, which created the initiative. Highlights include the world premiere of Ricky Powell: The Individualist, which spotlights the titular legendary street photographer, featuring interviews with Natasha Lyonne and LL Cool J and Eeb Allay Ooo! which promises to introduce a whole new audience to New Delhi’s professional “monkey repellers”. Look out for the specially-curated talks from Francis Ford Coppola with Steven Soderbergh, Song Kang-ho and Bong Joon-ho, Guillermo del Toro, Jane Campion and Claire Denis.
2. BAM’s DanceAfrica celebrates this year — a very unique one — with a series of digital offerings, paying special tribute to the people who have shaped the festival over its 42-year history. There are online dance classes, streams of past performances, interviews with members of the Council of Elders, a virtual bazaar and other programs to keep the festival’s spirit alive. It also has four films on offer too, including the excellent Mother of George and Rafiki, which was banned in its home country of Kenya. DanceAfrica runs until June 14th.
3. Double Emmy-nominated South African ventriloquist Conrad Koch was meant to be touring his new show, before the pandemic hit, so instead he’s debuting it online. On Friday, he’ll stage How to End Racism by Chester Missing from his home in Cape Town. In it, “Chester Missing will confront his white male handler, Conrad Koch, about his own racism, his own privilege and his own journey to understanding South Africa”. With Koch’s background in anthropology and his status as a white male, this should definitely be appointment-viewing. Friday May 29 at 8.30pm CAT / 11:30am PST / 2:30pm EST. To participate, book at quicket.co.za — 30% of the proceeds go to the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation to support their antiracism projects.
4. Chicago’s Goodman Theatre is making a high-quality digital recording of its production, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, available for viewing on demand, through to the end of May. I haven’t seen the show, so, as per the site’s description, Jocelyn Bioh’s ferocious comedy, set in 1986, sees the queen bee at an exclusive Ghanaian boarding school compete with a sunny American student for the attention of a pageant recruiter.
5. On Friday, Carlos Santana and Cindy Blackman Santana will release their version of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Imagine, as part of SongAid's playlist to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts. Hopefully this will be better than the Gal Gadot-led version celebs released at the beginning of the pandemic. Other artists participating include Tom Morello, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, The Silkroad Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, and more. The streaming proceeds will benefit WhyHunger's Rapid Response Fund, which is providing emergency support for those impacted by food insecurity during the pandemic.
6. On Friday, the Dropkick Murphys are performing from an empty Fenway Park, with pal Bruce Springsteen joining them remotely. The band and The Boss will be doing a double play, two songs, one from each musical act. The livestream will be available on the Dropkick Murphy's Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitch pages, and begins at 3pm PST / 6pm EST.
7. On Saturday, Led Zeppelin's concert film Celebration Day, which chronicles the band's December 2007 show at London's O2 Arena in honor of Atlantic Records founder and friend Ahmet Ertegun, premieres at 12pm PST / 3pm EST on YouTube, and will be available for three days. The concert was the band's first in 27 years, with more than 20 million fans applying for tickets in the lottery.
8. Also on Saturday, David Guetta will do a livestream performance in New York benefiting the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, Feeding America, the World Health Organization, and Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris - Hôpitaux de France. It will begin after the 7pm EST clap for the city's front-line workers and can be streamed via his Facebook and YouTube channels. Meanwhile, Ben Folds continues with Episode #9 of his live-stream of open requests, which includes a special music lesson for the kiddies. Saturday 4pm PST / 7pm EST.
9. On Saturday, the Swedish Embassy in South Africa hosts another episode of Digitally Yours, an online series aimed at creative industries, not just in those two countries. This week, they’re looking at representation, inclusion and advances being made by women working in film, TV and screen industries, with Swedish and South African women filmmakers taking part, as well as a performance by singer-songwriter Bongiziwe Mabandla, 6pm CAT / 1pm EST.
10. London’s Shakespeare’s Globe is currently re-running its performance of The Winter’s Tale, which you can see until Sunday. The Bard's bittersweet portrait of jealousy, love, repentance, angry bears and magic statuary is a wild emotional ride, directed by Blanche McIntyre.
Thank you for reading! If you found this useful, I hope you share it. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. I’ll leave you with Brené Brown’s commencement speech to the University of Texas at Austin’s graduates.
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia