52docs / 7 - Do the impossible

We just lost one of the greats but I’m resisting the obvious move of selecting one of his films.

Although it’s an essential body of work and any of his many masterpieces are worthy of our time, I once met someone at a party who told me they had every Frederick Wiseman film on a hard drive and instead of feeling excited I was crushed with the weight of what it would take to watch them all.

While bowing towards one great, I’m excited to dive in to this week’s film about another (and not just because there are Portland fingerprints all over it - graphics by Afternoon Inc. and edit by Steven Golliday).

Director Christine Turner has been quietly building her own powerful collection of films (including an Oscar nominated short from 2024) that explore Black America through history, culture and music. Which makes her a great person to introduce Sun Ra to the somewhat uninitiated (like me).

If it leaves you wanting more check out A Joyful Noise from 1980 and/or pair with the wonderful recent Fela Kuti podcast for next-level revolutionary musical possibilities.

Space is the place!

Trailer

Watch free on PBS