My Friend Fela

Spoken: English/French. Subtitles: English.

My Friend Fela provides a new perspective on the Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, in order to, according to director Joel Zito Araújo, counter the most often portrayed narrative of Fela as “an eccentric African pop idol of the ghetto”. The complexity of Fela’s life is unravelled through the eyes and conversations of his close friend and official biographer, the African-Cuban Carlos Moore.
As the documentary unfolds, it reveals the many influences and forces that shaped Fela’s extraordinary life. By placing Fela’s personal history in a pan-African context, the film becomes not only a portrait of one man but also of a pan-African generation.