Sinopsis
Documentary. Larger than life, wild, scary and androgynous – Grace Jones plays all these parts. Yet here we discover her as lover, daughter, mother, sister and even grandmother, as she submits herself to our gaze and allows us to understand what constitutes her mask.
The stage is where Grace Jones’ most extreme embodiments are realised and her theatrical imagination lets loose: this is where the musical of her life is played out. The film includes unique performances of her iconic hits Slave To The Rhythm and Pull Up To The Bumper as well as more recent autobiographical tracks, Williams’ Blood, This Is and Hurricane. These personal songs link to the film’s narrative that follows Grace on a holiday road trip across her native Jamaica, with her son Paulo and niece Chantal. Here the family’s roots and the story of her traumatic childhood are uncovered.
Sophie Fiennes is a film director whose feature documentaries for theatrical exhibition include her collaborations with the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (2006), and The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology (2012), her portrait of German artist Anselm Keifer, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (2010), and her most recent film Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (2017), an observational odyssey into the world of the iconic singer and performer. This project came about following Fiennes’ first feature documentary Hoover Street Revival (2001) about a Pentecostal church community in Los Angeles, and the sermons of its preacher, Bishop Noel Jones, brother of Grace Jones. Fiennes’ work for television includes her first short Lars from 1-10, about the Danish film director Lars von Trier and his ‘Dogme rules’ film manifesto and arts documentaries, The Late Michael Clark, (2000), Because I Sing (2001), VSPRS Show and Tellm (2005), and Liu Xiaodong Half Streetm (2013). She also made a 5 minute fictional short, First Row Orchestra, for Arte’s Hopper Vu Par (2012). Fiennes’ films have received international distribution and screened in festivals from Cannes official selection to Toronto and Sundance. She was awarded a NESTA fellowship in 2001, to develop her innovative approach to film, and the Arte France Cinema Award in 2008 at Rotterdam’s Cinemart.
Friday 6th April: 21.30h
Cine Estudio. Círculo de Bellas Artes
Section: Competitive
Year of Production: 2017
Running Time: 115′
Country: United Kingdom and Ireland
Language: English
Director: Sophie Fiennes
Costumes: Eiko Ishioka
Producers: Katie Holly, Sophie Fiennes, Beverly Jones and Shani Hinton
Production Companies: BBC Films and BFI in association with Roads Entertainment with the participation of Bord Scannán na héireann, The Irish Film Board A Sligoville, Amoeba Film and Blinder Films production
International Sales: WestEnd Films
Main Festivals: Toronto International Film Festival
