Fonko

Fonko

The great musical revolution of our time is taking place in Africa and is affecting hundreds of millions of people. But this is just one aspect of a huge social, political and economic change. Countries like Angola and Zambia are the world’s fastest growing economy. The modernization affects all of Africa, bringing with it a decrease in poverty, wider income gaps, secular sentiments as well as conflicts between tradition and modernity. This is mirrored in the music. Kuduro, Coupé-décalé and Afrobeats are club music styles based on traditional rhythms, that have become a means for expressing the identity of an entire generation.

Yes, but what is Fonko?

Fonko is a documentary movie about the new Africa told through its current music. In Fonko you will meet some of Africa’s most interesting musicians and producers, and visit cities like Lagos, Luanda, Accra and Johannesburg. Fonko gives you the opportunity to step into a music scene during its most dramatic phase, one that will be remembered as a golden age. And music helps us understand the greater transformation it is a part of, which is cultural, economic, sociologic and religious.

The narrator of Fonko is Fela Kuti, as if speaking from the grave. Fela was a Nigerian political activist and one of the most influential African musicians ever. Fela died in 1997, his voice will come from old recordings. Emphasized by the quality of his voice, Fela Kuti’s words will have a timeless, prophetic, and sometimes ironic effect.

What will we do with your money?

We have traveled all across Africa, from Dakar in the west to Johannesburg in the south to meet the most prominent and interesting musicians on the continent. This work has taken us three years, and we have gathered vast and exclusive materials. Now we need your help for the last crucial steps, to finish the feature length Fonko Filmo in the spring of 2015.

Your contribution will enable us to pay things such as:

• professional editor
• assistant editor
• graphics compositor
• studio rental
• archival photo and footage costs
• audio mix
• music rights

Who are we?

Directors:
Göran Hugo Olsson, maker of award winning films such as Concerning Violence and The Black Power Mixtape (1967-1975)

Lamin Daniel Jadama, dj, radio personality and filmmaker, with Gambian roots in the diaspora. He hosts Radio Brazzaville on national Swedish radio together with:

Lars Lovén, who also works as a freelance journalist and is music critic at the renowned Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet

Producer:
Tobias Jansson has been working with internationally released documentaries such as Facing Genocide, Love During Wartime, The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 and At Night I Fly.

1st Camera:
Ania Winiarska

Say hi!

Email us on ofonko@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. And we’re quite quick!

Twitter: Fonko1

www.facebook.com/fonkomusic

The artists