Has there ever been a comprehensive feature film (fiction or non-fiction) on the personal and professional life of Grace Jones? I don’t believe there has been one, which is a shame. If I’m wrong about that, I’m sure someone will correct me. But my research tells me that this might actually be the very first.
UK’s leading documentary festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest.
The shortlisted teams were asked to give a 7-minute pitch and show clips of footage, and then fielded questions from the panel about the strength of the stories, characters and cinematic potential of the projects.
The projects, which were shortlisted by a team of senior executives from the BFI and Sheffield
Doc/Fest, include:
1 – They are certainly all intriguing projects, but of most interest to this blog (given its stated mission) is Sophie Fiennes’s “Grace Jones – The Musical of My Life,” co-produced with James Wilson
and Katie Holly. The film will create a cinematic journey into the
private and public worlds of Grace Jones, mixing intimate personal footage with unique
staged musical sequences.
2 – Robert Cannan and Ross Adam’s “The Lovers and the Despot,” produced by Natasha Dack, which details the bizarre love story of a celebrity director and actress kidnapped by movie-mad
dictator Kim Jong-il, and forced to make films in the communist state.
3 – And finally Iain Cunningham’s “Irene’s Ghost,” produced by Rebecca Mark-Lawson – a part animated
feature documentary that follows the moving journey of the filmmaker to build a picture
of the mother he never knew.
The BFI has committed to further engagement on George Amponsah’s hybrid
observational documentary, “Down By Law,” which follows several years in the lives of two
of the closest friends of Mark Duggan, the man whose death at the hands of armed
policed sparked the UK riots of 2011; and Steve Loveridge’s “Untitled M.I.A. Project,” a
chronicle of musician M.I.A. through personal archive footage filmed by the controversial
artist over 20 years.
Lizzie Francke, BFI Film Fund Senior Executive, said: “We were blown away by the quality
of all the projects selected to pitch at the Sheffield Doc/Fest session. The pitch session
provides a valuable opportunity to pinpoint those documentary projects with the potential
to capture the imagination of cinema audiences, and the creative vision of filmmakers to
bring characters to the big screen in thought-provoking and exciting ways. Grace Jones –
The Musical of My Life, The Lovers and the Despot and Irene’s Ghost are entertaining,
exciting and emotive stories that will enthral audiences in the UK and abroad. We’re also
keen to help the filmmakers of Down By Law and Untitled M.I.A. Project in developing
their projects further, and we congratulate all those selected to pitch in what was an
exceptionally strong short list.”
The pitching took place on Monday June 9, and the successful projects were announced today in a session chaired by British Council Film’s Will Massa, as part of Doc/Fest’s industry program.
Nothing to see of the Grace Jones project yet unfortunately. But I’m on the job, so stay tuned…
And again, it does prompt the question: Has there ever been a comprehensive film (fiction or non-fiction) on the personal and professional life of Grace Jones?