Alex Gibey on ‘Finding Fela’ Over the years, documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney of Summit has chronicled the lives of author Hunter S. Thompson (2008’s “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson”), former New York governor Eliot Spitzer (2010’s “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”) and cyclist Lance Armstrong (2013’s “The Armstrong Lie.”) With his latest work, “Finding Fela,” the Oscar winner is turning his lens on the life and legacy of iconic Afrobeat innovator Fela Kuti. Using the 2009 Tony-winning Broadway musical biography “Fela!” as a jumping-off point, Gibney’s film takes an illuminating look at the life of Kuti, the Nigerian music pioneer who died of AIDS-related complications in 1997 at the age of 58. Featuring interviews with Kuti’s family and fellow musicians from Paul McCartney to Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of the Roots, “Finding Fela” screens through Thursday, Aug. 7, at the IFC Center in New York City, followed by engagements from Aug. 15 to 21 at the Landmark Ritz at the Bourse in Philadelphia and Aug. 29 to 31 at the ACME Screening Room in Lambertville. Gibney recently discussed “Finding Fela” and Kuti’s work and legacy. Q:How did you first get exposed to the music and work of Fela Kuti? A: Back in the late ’70s, early ’80s, I was listening to it a little bit. I wouldn’t say I was an expert, but I heard it, and I enjoyed it. At the time, I was sampling all sorts of different kinds of music, so I was certainly aware, but I wasn’t a real Fela devotee until after I saw the play, when I got back into it. I went out and bought a lot of CDs and then made this film. Q:Was the goal from the beginning to always tell both the story of the play and the man himself? A: Actually, it was really more the play, to be honest with you. I was contacted by Steve Hendel, who produced the play, and they were going to take the play back to Nigeria and perform it there. And Steve thought it might be interesting to do a film about that, and I thought that might be interesting too, a cross-cultural look at this whole experience. And even within that context, we thought we would show a little bit of the real Fela. We were going to include little bits and pieces. But, I think as we began to dig into those bits and pieces and to dig into Fela’s story, he sort of demanded to be given equal time. And so, he became more present, inevitably. I think, also, I thought more about it, and in that context, when we discovered the footage of the making of the play, that seemed a further way in to talk about this idea of finding him, discovering who he was and what made him tick. And in a way, that seemed to be a metaphor about the whole art-making process in general, how you dig into something and discover something you didn’t know before and come to a very different reckoning. Q:Fela may not have lived for a lot of years, but he definitely lived a very big, very important and very messy life. How was that, taking all of that, plus his legacy, and narrowing it down into one feature film? A: It was daunting. And I think the only thing that allowed us to do it was to be able to riff, riff on moments, and the ability to move back and forth between the making of the play, Fela’s real life and interviews about him. You could move in and out of key moments, and at the same time, always keep the music going, so it’s as if you’re listening to a themed LP. That was what seemed to make it work. But, I think what was the hardest was reckoning with all of those contradictions. Because you’re right, his life is messy. It’s grand, it’s big, it’s bold, but it’s messy, and sometimes very contradictory, deeply contradictory, in ways that I think you have to reckon with. And I think in some ways, we reckon with more than the play does. So yeah, it was challenging. Q:When you’re doing a profile picture, whether it’s “Finding Fela” or “Gonzo” or the Eliot Spitzer picture, how big of a difference is there on your end when you’re dealing with a subject who is alive versus a subject who has passed on? A: Well, inevitably, you have a problem of access when they’ve passed on. But, I think the challenge in a way is the same, which is to find a way to bring their contradictions to life. That’s what I’m interested in and to find a way to make them present. In the Hunter Thompson movie, “Gonzo,” we used Hunter’s own words to make that happen. The film is narrated by Hunter himself, by the voice of Johnny Depp, but all of the narrator’s words are Hunter Thompson’s words. And that makes you feel the spirit of Hunter in a way that’s quite palpable. In the case of Fela, we had the music, and that’s one of the things that keeps it going, so that pulse and character of the music is always there, and I think that makes it feel very present in a way that a strict, straightforward chronology of his life does not. Q: How was it working with Fela’s family on this project, including a couple of his sons who are now prolific musicians in their own right? A: It was great. First of all, they were very candid, both about the blessing and the curse of being the children of Fela Kuti. I think they’re immensely proud of their father, but they also recognize his shortcomings, and they’ve had time to live in the shadow of that legacy and to find their own way, to find their way as individuals as they continue on carrying his torch. But, it was great. I was really impressed by their generosity, and frankly, their honesty. In fact, one of the things I would say is that one of the things that speaks volumes is at the end. You know you make movies sometimes because you can’t explain it any other way. If you can’t explain it any other way, why go to the trouble of making the movie? But, one of the things that speaks most eloquently in terms of father and son is Femi’s saxophone solo at the end, over the final credits. That, really, I think you can hear it all there. FINDING FELA INFO: Directed by Alex Gibey, 119 minutes WHERE/WHEN: Screening through Thursday, Aug. 7 at the IFC Center in New York City, followed by engagements from Aug. 15 to 21 at the Landmark Ritz at the Bourse in Philadelphia and Aug. 29 to 31 at the ACME Screening Room in Lambertville. app/story/entertainment/arts/2014/08/03/alex-gibey-finding-fela/13477661/
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 23:13:55 +0000
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