The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)

Footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.

Director:

Göran Olsson

Writer:

Göran Olsson (creator)

Stars:

Erykah Badu, Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Erykah Badu	...	(voice)
Harry Belafonte
Elaine Brown	...	Herself (archive footage)
Courtney Callender	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mable Carmichael	...	Herself (archive footage)
Stokely Carmichael
Eldridge Cleaver	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kathleen Cleaver	...	(voice)
Angela Davis
Emile de Antonio	...	Himself (archive footage)
Louis Farrakhan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Danny Glover
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Talib Kweli
Lewis H. Michaux	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

Footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.

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Plot Keywords:

power | black power | united states | massacre | political assassination | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site PBS [United States]

Country:

Sweden

Language:

English Swedish

Release Date:

1 April 2011 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Black Power Mixtape

Box Office

Budget:

SEK 5,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$17,316 (USA) (9 September 2011)

Gross:

$264,324 (USA) (4 November 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Louverture Films, Story AB

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Goofs

An interviewee says Medgar Evers was killed in 1968, not 1963 which was actually the case

User Reviews

evocative and well curated footage

I saw this in a UK arts centre with a friend from the US who had left High School in 66 or 67 and graduated from college in 70. On her own admission here was another America she has never experienced or known about. What struck me about this is the pacing, the editing allows the protagonists time and space to speak and articulate themselves. There's a section when Angela Davis speaks eloquently and movingly and the camera holds on her for several minutes. This film is essential viewing for any younger people involved in the 'Occupy'or anti globalisation / anti capitalist movements. The issues that the Black Power movement were addressing are still with us. The film has a wonderful soundtrack and music score complementing the footage perfectly. The footage is both evocative and informative, carefully selected. There's shots of everyday street scenes, interviews and dramatic footage of rioting and disturbances. Yes BPMT is short on analysis, but for this viewer the beauty of this film is that I felt an empathy as a fellow human being with these angry, militant people and felt inspired to learn more about the Black Power movement and quietly, calmly, start to listen. I don t feel I have to apologise for being white after watching this or start going all PC simply that I have a better understanding now of where some people were or are coming from. Finally, it's fascinating this film emerges from Sweden. Often held to be a model of 'responsible' capitalism, a proper social democracy where entrepreneur ism and business can live happily alongside social provision and an excellent welfare state. However unlike other European countries such as Britain or France, Sweden never had to address the legacy of a colonial empire and immigration from former colonies. It's very safe for a country, a society where everyone looks the same and speaks the same language to be open, liberal and tolerant. I'm very intrigued as to what the fascination and interest was for the Swedish in the Black Power movement, a question this film doesn't address. Maybe the Black Power activists in this film are being positioned as 'exotic' in the same way that countless documentaries always position Africans as exotic, closer to nature, primitive and so on. Just a thought...