- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba,
host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Get ready to tap your toes and snap your fingers,
and maybe even get up off the couch, as tonight,
we bring you a fantastic or "funktastic" journey
through the history of funk with the film We Want the Funk.
Funk introduced music fans to syncopated rhythms,
emphasizing offbeats and unique rhythmic patterns,
hard-driving bass rhythms, chord changes,
and riveting, charismatic live performances
by legendary musicians,
and it's really hard not to dance to.
We Want the Funk traces the genre back
to its African, early soul, American folk,
and gospel and jazz roots all the way into the 1970s,
when it was discovered by the masses
and reached the height of its popularity.
The film features performances
by such music legends as James Brown, George Clinton,
the '70s all-girl band LaBelle, which included Patti LaBelle,
and Nigerian music and Afrobeat pioneer legend Fela Kuti.
In addition to the history of funk,
director Stanley Nelson explores the influence
of the music and musical forms that followed,
which include new wave and hip-hop.
Funk paved the way for artists like Prince, David Byrne,
Kool and the Gang, and Earth, Wind, and Fire.
The film just had its world premiere
at the Doc Fortnight festival in February.
We Want the Funk is directed by award-winning
and critically acclaimed Stanley Nelson.
Nelson brings us on a journey through the genre
and introduces us to all the brilliant musicians
that took funk to another level and made it so popular
after being underappreciated for so long.
In addition to showing us how funk achieved such popularity,
Nelson shows us how it became synonymous
with Black independence, setting it apart
from more mainstream genres like doo-wop and Motown,
and how funk became identifiable with the Black power movement.
Stanley Nelson is considered a legendary documentary filmmaker.
His credits include
San Juan Hill: Manhattan's Lost Neighborhood,
Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool,
and Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom.
I had the privilege of interviewing Nelson
on Director's Cut about his film
Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
several years ago.
He was fascinating to listen to
as he talked about his artistic process
and how passionate he is about storytelling
and the subjects of his films.
In addition to his many award-winning films,
Nelson was awarded the National Humanities Medal
by President Obama in 2013.
He is also a MacArthur Fellow and a member
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Several of his films have been featured here on PBS.
So stretch out, maybe make yourself an Old Fashioned
or even something stronger,
and if you're so inclined, get up and dance.
But don't overdo it.
It's a school night, folks.
We Want the Funk starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.