''Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars'' is a
documentary film about the
musical band of the same name composed entirely of
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. s from
Freetown displaced to
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
during the
1991-2002 civil war in
Sierra Leone.
The film follows the band for three years as they are relocated between various refugee camps in Guinea, and concludes with their return to Freetown and the recording of their first
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''
Living Like a Refugee
''Living Like a Refugee'' is the debut album from Sierra Leonian band Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, released in the Europe on 25 September 2006 and in the United States on 26 September 2006.
Background
Sierra Leone and Freetown in particular h ...
''.
It originally premiered in November 2005 in Los Angeles at the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
's Film Fest, winning the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary. It was later shown on the American
PBS television show ''
POV'' in June 2007.
[
]
Synopsis
The band's leader, Reuben Koroma, and his wife Grace fled the violence in Sierra Leone, ending up in the Kalia refugee camp in Guinea. There they ran into Franco John Langba, a friend from the Freetown music scene. They began to make music together. Later, when they were transferred to the remote Sembakounya camp, they found three more musicians - Arahim ("Jah Voice"), Mohammed Bangura and Alhadji Jeffrey Kamara ("Black Nature") - and some instruments and equipment, and the band was formed. It was in this camp that they were discovered by the American filmmakers Zach Niles and Banker White, and Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Valen in August 2002. With the help of the United Nations Refugee Agency, they were preparing to tour the other refugee camps. Niles and White tagged along. Eventually, the band returned to Freetown to record their first album, ''Living Like a Refugee''.
Reception
Daniel Gold wrote in '' The New York Times'' of the ''POV'' airing, "The story told here is simple, and ultimately triumphant."[ '' Newsweek'' magazine's Vanessa Juarez praised its "compelling story".
]
Home media
It was released on DVD for region 1 on 14 August 2007.
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, 0495750, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
2005 films
2005 documentary films
POV (TV series) films
Documentary films about African music
Documentary films about refugees
Shangri-La Entertainment films
Films shot in Guinea
Films produced by Ice Cube
English-language Guinean films
2000s American films