SFFS Screen Presents: Youssou N'Dour: Return to Goree September 19, 2008

Youssou N’Dour: Return to Gorée (Retour á Gorée, Switzerland/Luxembourg 2007), a musical road movie with the renowned Senegalese singer, will open at SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas on Friday, September 19.

Youssou N’Dour is one of world music’s best-known singers, credited with developing a form that blends traditional African praise-singing with musical styles from around the world. In this globetrotting documentary, he investigates a personal theory that the music of the African diaspora—including blues, jazz, spirituals, gospel and rock—is all connected. In New Orleans, listening to Mardi Gras tunes, he remarks that he hears the music of Dakar, Senegal, where he is from. Youssou N’Dour: Return to Gorée follows N’Dour as he gathers a group of jazz musicians and gospel singers together to adapt some of his own compositions and performs with them in various venues, including a triumphant outdoor performance on Gorée Island in Senegal, a former stronghold of the slave trade. Along the way, N’Dour and his band comment on key issues such as the musician as storyteller, the responsibility of artists as cultural activists and the relationship of music to history. Featuring 22 songs and appearances by poet Amiri Baraka, drummer Idris Muhammad, vocalist Pyeng Threadgill and Swiss pianist Marcel Genoud, this comprehensive portrait serves as a vibrant cultural document while also offering a joyous celebration of N’Dour’s potent and beautiful songs. Directed and written by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud. Photographed by Camille Cottagnoud. With Youssou N’Dour, Moncef Genoud. In English and French with English subtitles. (108 min) Distributed by ArtMattan Productions.

At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets will be available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at www.sundancecinemas.com with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members will receive discounted admission to SFFS Screen programs at the box office only (not online or at the lobby kiosks).

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org