Director: John Akomfrah
2010, UK / Ghana
English
Experimental feature / 92 minutes
Using Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, as a narrative starting point, and structured as an allegorical fable, The Nine Muses is a stylised and idiosyncratic retelling of the history of mass migration—particularly from Africa and the Caribbean—to post-war Britain. Divided into nine overlapping chapters and blending archival material with haunting images of snow-blanketed landscapes, this is a genre-defying work, a mystifying (and mythifying) tone poem about journeys, migration, memory and the power of elegy.
About the director
Born in Ghana and raised in the UK, John Akomfrah made his directorial debut with the acclaimed Handsworth Songs in 1986. He has made over a dozen films since then. He is one of the founders of the now-defunct Black Audio Film Collective, which was dedicated to examining issues of black British identity through film and media. Tues 27 Sept 2.00pm + Fri 30 Sept 2.00pm, The Little Carib Theatre
Really very different, at least by my standards, very ‘high’/deep film. Now, I reached late for it and so I found myself lost as to the point of it all, even though I had an idea of the story that was being told. Couldn’t understand the poetry and how it communicated the story, not to mention the many still cloaked images. the director being present at the end though and questions that he fielded, then brought me to really appreciate what they were trying to capture and might I add with a wonderful result too. Having taking it all in, the 40mins I saw and the commentary at the end, a story so innovatively, masterfully and cleverly communicated on film. and this is me saying the very least. I hope that it can be available for purchase or paid viewing sometime in the near future:-)