''Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars'' is a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the musical band of the same name composed entirely of

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s from

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

displaced to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

during the 1991-2002 civil war in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. 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 (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

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 History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

's Film Fest, winning the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary. It was later shown on the American

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

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 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, lo ...

, 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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' of the ''POV'' airing, "The story told here is simple, and ultimately triumphant." ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' 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