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Extraordinary Women: The Extraordinary Nina Simone — Documentary and Discussion
Runtime: 110 mins | Release Year: 2015 | Rating: | Genre(s): Documentary, History, Music
Production Country: USA | Original Language: English
Showtimes
No upcoming showtimes available.
Join us Sunday, Feb. 22, 12:30 – 2:45 for Back Lane Studios’ next Extraordinary Woman event about the incomparable Nina Simone.
We will be screening the documentary The Amazing Nina Simone, written, directed and produced by Vancouver-born Jeff Lieberman, who studied production at Ryerson University (now TMU).
Simone, who was born in North Carolina and experienced the harsh discrimination of the Jim Crow era, always wanted to be a concert pianist. She was a child prodigy, with her early lessons funded by benefactors. She attended a summer program at Juilliard but then missed out on gaining entry to the exclusive Curtis School in Philadelphia. She turned to playing in an Atlanta bar to support herself, discovered her voice when she was required to sing, and went on to earn the title “The High Priestess of Soul.” Yet that love of classical persists in the improvisations patterned on Bach that you hear in her music.
Lieberman built the documentary on over 50 interviews with people who knew Simone best: her friends, family, musicians and fellow activists.
We’re thrilled once again to have music historian and neighbour Rob Bowman for our Q&A. Here’s what Rob says about Simone: “She had a breadth of repertoire that seemingly knew no limits, making it impossible to place her within a single genre. A complex and often tortured artist, she was a fierce and fiery voice whose songs at times addressed issues of both Civil Rights and feminism in unique and powerful ways. The Amazing Nina Simone takes a nuanced look at the many factors that drove both her life and her art.”
Tickets are by a suggested donation of $16 on Eventbrite. Tickets available in advance or at the door.
Part of the Extraordinary Women series!
Cast/Crew Info
Director: Jeff L. Lieberman | Cast: Nina Simone, Eric Burdon, Nikki Giovanni, Marla Glen, Billy Vera