About
Legendary performer Nina Simone's career crossed eras and genres fearlessly, departing from her initial aspirations as a classical pianist to bring a virtuosic and often soul-bearing approach to jazz, R+B, gospel, and beyond. But the "High Priestess of Soul" didn't limit herself to unforgettable recordings and performances -- she also turned heads and changed minds as an activist and singularly outspoken personality.
The rarely-screened Nina Simone: La Légende, made for French television in the early '90s, mixes then-contemporary footage with archival (including highly-charged interviews and performances from a 1969 Peter Rodis short doc about Simone) to bring us closer to an American icon.
Maryland Film Festival's guest-host program asks figures best-known for work other than film to choose a film to share with an audience, and this screening was developed in collaboration with Ian MacKaye, who will host the film and engage the audience in discussion afterwards. We can't wait to hear what a legendary musician known for his powerful performances and politically-aware music will have to say about this film and the life of Simone. Both, despite working with very different sounds, deliver cathartic, revolutionary thoughts and vibrations through their music.
About Ian MacKaye:
Guest-host Ian MacKaye has created innovative, uncompromising music with such bands as Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, and, currently, The Evens. He is the co-founder of seminal independent record label Dischord Records, which he still co-owns and operates after nearly 30 years and over 150 releases. Ian was featured prominently in the documentary American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986.
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