Göran Olsson On The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
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Göran Olsson On The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Empire meets the director of the acclaimed doc
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 tells the story of one of the most radical decades in American history. Documenting the period in which the Black Power movement emerged from the Civil Right struggle to challenge the establishment, it features famous figures such Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis and Malcolm X, as well as contributions from artists influenced by them, including Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu and Danny Glover.
Surprisingly, director Göran Olsson was able to create Black Power Mixtape exclusively from 16mm footage shot by Swedish journalists. Discovered buried in an archival vault, the film is a record of his country’s strange fascination with what was happening in America, and features never before seen material that captures the power, controversy and vibrant culture of a revolutionary era. Olsson shared with Empire the reasons why Black Power still matters at a time when the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street are challenging the powerful and the wealthy.
How did you find the footage that makes up Black Power Mixtape?
I heard a rumour some time ago that we had this footage in Sweden. I was working on another film, so I wasn’t really looking, or I didn’t know what I was looking for at least. I was browsing if you like. But I found it. I found a speech by Stokely Carmichael and an interview with Angela Davis in jail in 1972, and they made up the story of a film to me.
What was it about the footage that convinced you that it could be made into a film?
What you have to realise is that to do an archive film you are relying on the technical quality of what is available. The quality of this footage was so striking, so beautiful, with the crispness, the brilliance of the image. But ultimately I did the film because I admire and respect the people on screen, and I also respect and admire the people that put this footage together, because they did a great job. As a film it’s not about the Black Power movement, it’s about how it was perceived in Sweden.
One of the fascinating things about the film is that it reveals a strange Swedish fascination with the Civil Rights Movement
It’s so funny! But I think there are explanations. When Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 it connected the Civil Rights Movement to the Swedish establishment. Then younger people tuned into the Black Power movement. Sweden was neutral at the time, so they decided that Swedes should report from the world to the Swedes, not via British, American or, ? forbid, Russian media. And as Sweden was rich at the time they could afford it.
How did a group of white journalists get such privileged access to the Black Power movement?
They had an advantage, as I do, that if you come from this remote country, and you knock on someone’s door and say “Hello, we are from Sweden,” then they are so forthcoming and generous. They try to explain, because they understand that you may not have the language or the American experience, but you do have the right perspective.
Did you ever wrestle with the dilemma of being a white filmmaker making a film about black struggle?
Yes, and it’s in the film, with the Black Power movement saying, “We have to tell out own history, we have to tell our own stories.” I think what they did back then was a good thing, end of story. The world looks different today, with the media not being something that is too expensive, but this was a time where it was tremendously costly to produce television and film. I couldn’t go to these places today and make a film, that’s not for me. But I could make a film about the Swedish archive. That’s my story.
Black Power Mixtape features people like Angela Davis as well artists such as Talib Kweli and Erykah Badu, commenting on Black Power’s legacy. But these interviews only appear in voiceover over the archive footage. Why is that?
I’m tired of structured documentaries. I wanted to make a more loose film by keeping the roughness of the original footage, as if you were seeing the archive yourself. However I knew it could be very claustrophobic to just use archive footage, and I wanted to let some oxygen into that container. That’s why I decided to have contemporary voices. I knew from the music of Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli that they would be interested to see this, and would also have interesting stuff to say.
Is the Black Power movement still important?
I think you are the one to answer that. Look at what we have seen since we have finished the film. At the time a friend of mine said that demonstrations, a revolution, these things are outdated and could never happen again. But since then we’ve had demonstrations, not just with the Arab Spring but also Israel, Madrid, 'Occupy Wall Street', the strikes here. I think it’s very important.
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 screens at the BFI London Film Festival this week, and is released on Friday.
Interview by Andrew Simpson
http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1369
Empire meets the director of the acclaimed doc
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 tells the story of one of the most radical decades in American history. Documenting the period in which the Black Power movement emerged from the Civil Right struggle to challenge the establishment, it features famous figures such Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis and Malcolm X, as well as contributions from artists influenced by them, including Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu and Danny Glover.
Surprisingly, director Göran Olsson was able to create Black Power Mixtape exclusively from 16mm footage shot by Swedish journalists. Discovered buried in an archival vault, the film is a record of his country’s strange fascination with what was happening in America, and features never before seen material that captures the power, controversy and vibrant culture of a revolutionary era. Olsson shared with Empire the reasons why Black Power still matters at a time when the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street are challenging the powerful and the wealthy.
How did you find the footage that makes up Black Power Mixtape?
I heard a rumour some time ago that we had this footage in Sweden. I was working on another film, so I wasn’t really looking, or I didn’t know what I was looking for at least. I was browsing if you like. But I found it. I found a speech by Stokely Carmichael and an interview with Angela Davis in jail in 1972, and they made up the story of a film to me.
What was it about the footage that convinced you that it could be made into a film?
What you have to realise is that to do an archive film you are relying on the technical quality of what is available. The quality of this footage was so striking, so beautiful, with the crispness, the brilliance of the image. But ultimately I did the film because I admire and respect the people on screen, and I also respect and admire the people that put this footage together, because they did a great job. As a film it’s not about the Black Power movement, it’s about how it was perceived in Sweden.
One of the fascinating things about the film is that it reveals a strange Swedish fascination with the Civil Rights Movement
It’s so funny! But I think there are explanations. When Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 it connected the Civil Rights Movement to the Swedish establishment. Then younger people tuned into the Black Power movement. Sweden was neutral at the time, so they decided that Swedes should report from the world to the Swedes, not via British, American or, ? forbid, Russian media. And as Sweden was rich at the time they could afford it.
How did a group of white journalists get such privileged access to the Black Power movement?
They had an advantage, as I do, that if you come from this remote country, and you knock on someone’s door and say “Hello, we are from Sweden,” then they are so forthcoming and generous. They try to explain, because they understand that you may not have the language or the American experience, but you do have the right perspective.
Did you ever wrestle with the dilemma of being a white filmmaker making a film about black struggle?
Yes, and it’s in the film, with the Black Power movement saying, “We have to tell out own history, we have to tell our own stories.” I think what they did back then was a good thing, end of story. The world looks different today, with the media not being something that is too expensive, but this was a time where it was tremendously costly to produce television and film. I couldn’t go to these places today and make a film, that’s not for me. But I could make a film about the Swedish archive. That’s my story.
Black Power Mixtape features people like Angela Davis as well artists such as Talib Kweli and Erykah Badu, commenting on Black Power’s legacy. But these interviews only appear in voiceover over the archive footage. Why is that?
I’m tired of structured documentaries. I wanted to make a more loose film by keeping the roughness of the original footage, as if you were seeing the archive yourself. However I knew it could be very claustrophobic to just use archive footage, and I wanted to let some oxygen into that container. That’s why I decided to have contemporary voices. I knew from the music of Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli that they would be interested to see this, and would also have interesting stuff to say.
Is the Black Power movement still important?
I think you are the one to answer that. Look at what we have seen since we have finished the film. At the time a friend of mine said that demonstrations, a revolution, these things are outdated and could never happen again. But since then we’ve had demonstrations, not just with the Arab Spring but also Israel, Madrid, 'Occupy Wall Street', the strikes here. I think it’s very important.
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 screens at the BFI London Film Festival this week, and is released on Friday.
Interview by Andrew Simpson
http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1369