A&E Presents PAUL SIMON'S GRACELAND JOURNEY Documentary Tonight, 5/25
By: BWW News Desk May. 25, 2012
A&E Network presents the world television premiere of Paul Simon'S GRACELAND JOURNEY: UNDER AFRICAN SKIES, a documentary commemorating the 25th anniversary of the legendary Graceland album, tonight May 25 at 10 PM ET/PT.
Directed by two-time Emmy and Peabody Award winner and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the film travels with Paul Simon back to South Africa 25 years after his first visit, reuniting him with the original Graceland musicians for a reunion concert, while also exploring the story of the turbulent birth of the album.
Despite its huge success, and despite it being the first popular example of fusing American and African musical styles, Graceland was initially met with tremendous political crossfire as Simon was accused of breaking the UN cultural boycott of South Africa when he traveled there in 1985 to record with local artists.
Simon revisits the simmering tensions and comes to some new revelations as his musical journey is explored. Featuring interviews with key anti-apartheid activists of the time, Oprah Winfrey and such musical legends as Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, Paul McCartney, David Byrne and Peter Gabriel, the film is both an anatomy of a profound artistic achievement and a meditation on the role of the artist in society.
"Paul Simon's Graceland Journey: Under African Skies" premiered at the Sundance 2012 Festival on January 22 and has garnered critical acclaim and multiple awards on the film festival circuit. The film is directed by Joe Berlinger ("Brother's Keeper," "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster"/"The West Memphis Three"/"Paradise Lost" trilogy) and produced by @Radical.media and A&E IndieFilms,
About A&E Network
A&E is "Real Life. Drama." Now reaching more than 99 million homes, A&E is television that you can't turn away from; where unscripted shows are dramatic and scripted dramas are authentic. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment ranging from the network's original scripted series, including "The Glades" and "Breakout Kings," to signature non-fiction franchises, including the Emmy-winning "Intervention," "Dog the Bounty Hunter," "Hoarders," "Beyond Scared Straight" and "Storage Wars," and the most successful justice shows on cable, including "The First 48." The A&E Web site is located at www.aetv.com.
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