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FILMOGRAPHY
A list of films and documentaries relating to music and music censorship
Last update 31 January 2012 |
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Please note that only few of the film titles listed below are about 'music censorship' as such. In most cases, music censorship and its effects is not the only topic of the film.
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| By film title, alphabetical: |
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Afghan Star
A Channel 4 Documentary Foundation production in association with Tolo TV
Directed by Havana Marking
With the singers Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Nabaazda, Hameed Sahkizada, Lima Sahar, Daoud Sediqi
In English, Dari and Pashtun with English subtitles. Running time: 88 minutes
Distributor: Zeitgeist Films
Film website: Afghanstardocumentary.com
Afghanistan. 2008
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An Independent Mind
About freedom of speech and how far individuals will go in order to preserve it. Interview with reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly from Côte d'Ivoire
Directed by Rex Bloomstein
Language: English / English subtitles. 89 minutes
United Kingdom. 2008
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At the end of a perfect day
About the punk band Quartet in Iran. Young film maker Mina Keshavarz tailed the band for a whole year. The film shows how the band gets into trouble with the Iranian law enforcers
Directed by Mina Keshavarz and Kamran Heidari
Farsi spoken, subtitles in English. 52 minutes, DVD
Iran. 2008
Read more... (in Danish language) |
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Back Vocal (Seday-e Dovom)
About women singers in Tehran who defy Iran’s law forbidding women to perform solo
Directed by Iranian film director Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
Language: Persian. English subtitles. 40 minutes
Iran. 2004
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Beats of Freedom
Award-winning Polish documentary on rock music behind the Iron Curtain, and the story of how Polish rock’n’roll helped bring down the communist regime. Included are extraordinary secret police reports on hippies and punks.
Directed by Leszek Gnoinski and Wojciech Slota
Language: Mainly English. 73 minutes
Poland. 2010
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Trailer on YouTube |
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Breaking the Silence – Music in Afghanistan
Directed by Simon Broughton
Produced by Felmay
Colour. In English. Available on DVD. 60 minutes
Afghanistan and UK. 2002
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¡Cuba RebelióN!
Directed by Alessio Cuomo & Sander de Nooij
Produced by Coldsun Productions VOF & Column Film
Language: Spanish with English subtitles. 53 minutes
The Netherlands and Cuba. 2008
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Democracy in Dakar
Documentary film about hip-hop youth and politics in Dakar, Senegal
Directed by Magee McIlvaine, Chris Moore and Ben Herson
Produced by Nomadic Wax and Sol Productions
Language: Wolof and French with English subtitles. App. 60 minutes
Senegal. 2008
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Fangafrika - Voice of the Voiceless
The first documentary film about West African hip-hop
Produced by Staycalm! Productions
Language: French with English subtitles. 52 minutes
Burkina Faso and France. 2007
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Footloose
The story of the dance film ‘Footloose’ follows the young dance maniac Ren McCormack, a boy who comes to a small town where loud music and dancing have been banned.
The original film from 1984 was remade in 2011 with the same title.
Directed by Craig Brewer (2011-version)
USA. 1984 and 2011
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View trailer
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Forbidden Future (Forbudt framtid)
Documentary which features the Iranian death metal band Scourge and their lead–singer Ali. “Behind closed doors in Teheran young Iranian artists express themselves through music, painting and sports – thereby risking public floggings and even a death sentence.”
Directed by Gard A. Andreassen
Won the ECU 2008 for 'Best European Feature Documentary'
Colour. Digibeta. English subtitles. 52 minutes
Iran and Norway. 2007
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View trailer
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Half Moon (Niwemang)
Directed by Bahman Ghobadi
Produced as a joint production of Iran, Iraq, Austria, and France by MijFilm
Colour. 35 mm. Language: Kurdish and Farsi. 114 minutes
Iran. 2006
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Heavy Metal in Baghdad
Feature length documentary about Iraq’s only heavy metal band, Acrassicauda, who are in exile in Turkey
Directed and produced by Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi
Produced by Monica Hampton
HDCAM. Colour. Language: English and Arabic. 84 minutes
Iraq. 2007
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I Love Hip Hop in Morocco
Documentary about a group of hip hop artists sharing a dream: To organise a professional concert. Unfortunately resistance is strong in their society and resources scare. With the help of an American filmmaker, they raised funding and created the first Hip Hop festival in Morocco.
Co-Directed by Jennifer Needleman & Joshua Asen
Language: Arabic, French & English with English, French & Spanish subtitles
Morocco and USA. 2008
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In the name of God (Khuda Kay Liye)
Award-winning feature film, highest grossing film of Pakistan of all time. About two musical brothers of which one decides to follow a fundamentalist cleric who says music is forbidden according to Islam.
Directed and written by Shoaib Mansoor
Colour. Language: Urdu and English
Pakistan. 2007
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Knowledge is the Beginning
About The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra which is banned from performing in the countries from which most of its musicians come
Directed by Paul Smaczny
Language: English. 90 minutes
Germany and Palestine. 2005
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Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats
(Kasi az gorbehaye irani khabar nadareh)
About music censorship in Iran, featuring the underground rock band Mirza, the rapper Hichkas, as well as other musicians of varying styles from Persian pop and folk to heavy metal, and women who are banned in Iran from public solo singing.
Directed by Bahman Ghobadi
Language: Persian with English subtitles. 106 minutes
Iran and France. 2009
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Off Beat (Saz-e Mokhalef)
About Tehran's underground music bands
Directed by Iranian film director Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
45 minutes
Iran. 2004
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Passion (Bab el Makam)
Directed by Syrian film director Mohamad Malas
Produced by Ahmed Baha Eddine Attia and Fabienne Servan-Schreiber
The film won the Jury Prize at the fifth Marrakech International Film Festival in 2005
Distributor: , Paris, France. 98 minutes
Syria. 2005
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Shut Up & Sing
Featuring the American country group Dixie Chicks
Directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck
A Cabin Creek Films documentary
93 minutes
USA. 2006
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Sounds of Silence – Underground Music in Tehran
Directed and produced by Amir Hamz and Mark Lazarz
97 minutes
Iran. 2006
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Stopping the Music
Directed by Douglas Mitchell
Produced by Michael Drewett
54 minutes
South Africa. 2002
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Strange Birds in Paradise - music can rise above tyranny
A documentary which explains the significance of music in West Papua's independence struggle over the past 40 years.
Directed by Charlie Hill-Smith
Produced by The House of Red Monkey, Australia
75 minutes.
West Papua. 2009
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Sufi Soul
'The Mystic Music Of Islam' — a documentary produced for British Channel 4. The Sufi voice is increasingly under challenge within the Muslim world and beyond...
Directed by Simon Broughton
48 minutes
Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Morocco. 2005
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The Flute Player – a story of hope, healing, and the will to survive
Featuring Arn Chorn-Pond
Produced by Jocelyn Glatzer and Over The Moon Productions
Directed by Jocelyn Glatzer
57 minutes
Cambodia and USA. 2003
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The Miscreants
Directed by George Gittoes
A Gittoes & Dalton Production
90 minutes
Pakistan and Australia. 2009
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The Rebel (Rebelle)
About the Algerian singer Lounès Matoub who was assassinated in 1998
Directed by Mokrane Hammar
70 minutes
Algeria. 2005
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The Rock Star and The Mullahs
Documentary film featuring the Pakistani rock musician Salman Ahmad
Produced by Angus Macqueen
Directed by Ruhi Hamid
A PBS Wide Angle documentary
57 minutes
Pakistan and UK. 2003
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The Satanic Angels (Malaekat Al-Shaytan)
Feature film about a Moroccan heavy metal band arrested for "shaking the foundations of Islam". The script is based on a real case
Written and produced by Ahmed Boulane
International sales: Redfern Film, London
Arabic and French dialogue. 86 minutes
Morocco. 2007
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Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
35 mm. In English, Arabic, French, and Wolof with English subtitles. 102 minutes
Senegal and USA. 2009
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| Read more: |
| Cuba/Netherlands: ¡Cuba RebelióN! |
| A documentary film about the punk-rock and metal musicians rebelling against the bureaucracy and imposed conformity of the Castro regime |
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| Syria: Music censorship film wins award |
| Film director Mohamad Malas' movie 'Bab El Makam' tells the story of a young woman, who struggles against a society which does not accept her love for singing |
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