Throw Down Your Heart (2009)

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TRIVIA

This was the winner of the Audience Award at 2008 SXSW and Vancouver film festivals, and Winner of the Jury Prize for Best Music Documentary at the AFI/Silverdocs Film Festival.

COMMUNITY RATING

SPECS

• Project Phase: Completed
• Release Date: 2009-04-24 - NY and/or LA
• Distributor(s): 
• Film Genre(s): Documentary
• Country: United States
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SYNOPSIS

This follows American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo and record an album. Béla’s boundary-breaking musical adventure takes him to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali, and provides a glimpse of the beauty and complexity of Africa. THROW DOWN YOUR HEART presents a portrait of Africa that is very different from what is often seen in the media today. As Ugandan folk musician Haruna Walusimbi states in the film: “There is this negative thinking about Africa. There is nothing good in Africa. They are beggars, there is HIV/AIDS, they are at war all the time. But that is just a very small bit of what Africa is.” Béla’s trip provides a glimpse into the incredibly rich and diverse musical traditions of Africa.

At first glance, it might seem odd that the banjo is the catalyst for this journey. But in fact, the banjo is originally an African instrument. And Béla Fleck’s passion for the banjo runs deep. In his trailblazing 30-year career, Béla has brought the instrument into jazz, pop, classical, and world music settings, and won eleven Grammys along the way (not to mention the 27 nominations, in more distinct categories than anyone else, ever).

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