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Sing Your Song
Sing Your Song is a 2011 American documentary film about singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte. The film recounts his life and legacy, not only as a great entertainer, but as an important activist in the Civil Rights Movement. This inspirational biographical film begins with Belafonte's birth into poverty in Harlem in 1927, and childhood years in Jamaica, sent there by his immigrant mother. Director Susanne Rostock takes the viewer through his discovery of theater and training as an actor as a young man, and on to his career and success as a singer. The film shows not only Belafonte's remarkable success as a singer and actor, but also his true passion for social change. The film outlines some highlights of his entertainment career, but is more focused on how he helped change the world in other ways: marching with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil-rights era; working against apartheid in South Africa; fighting hunger through his instrumental work with USA for Africa; and, most recently, working to combat gang violence through programs with inner-city youth.[2] In an interview about the film, Belafonte discussed his activism from Civil Rights to poverty in Africa.[3] ReceptionThe film won an award in the "American Docs" category at the second American Film Festival.[4] At the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival, Sing Your Song won the Most Popular Nonfiction Film Award,[5] which is based on ballots cast by audiences at the festival.[6] Belafonte presented the film as the Closing Night selection of Maryland Film Festival 2011. The film advanced to the final 15 contenders for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature[7] but was not nominated. On January 10, 2012, REACT to FILM screened Sing Your Song at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, NY, and moderated a Q&A with Belafonte.[8] In a review of the film, critic Philip French described it in The Observer as "a skilfully compiled celebratory biography", writing: "This excellent film, eloquently narrated by its octogenarian subject in that wonderfully husky voice, carefully balances an account of his career in showbusiness with his 50-year commitment to civil and human rights in America and around the world, not just for fellow African-Americans but for Native Americans, Hispanics and people throughout Africa....[Belafonte] emerges at the end as a man of bravery and probity, a formidable contributor and witness to his times."[9] The Hollywood Reporter observed: "Susanne Rostock's Sing Your Song, which views the extraordinary career of entertainer Harry Belafonte through the prism of his tireless social activism, is less a true documentary than a call to action for viewers to emulate the singer’s example."[10] As the reviewer for The Irish Times notes: "The title Sing Your Song comes from advice imparted by Paul Robeson: 'Get them to sing your song and they'll want to know who you are.' This stirring film, fashioned by editing suite veteran Susanne Rostock, does justice to the notion."[11] References
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