NOTES FROM THE FILMMAKERS
Synopsis
At the time of Maya Angelou’s death, she was working on her first feature documentary about her life for the PBS American Masters series. An eloquent poet, writer, and performer, Maya Angelou’s life intersected with the civil rights struggle, the Harlem Writers Guild, the New Africa movement, the women’s movement, and the cultural and political realignments of the 1970s and ’80s.
Her first book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, catapulted Dr. Angelou onto the literary stage and became an international best-seller. She appeared in numerous documentaries, talk shows, and feature films, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, yet shockingly, has never been the subject of her own feature documentary.
Having lived such a rich, passionate life and been a witness, as well as a participant, in some of the most profound periods of the last century, her full biography is extraordinarily rich and varied. Dr. Angelou lived not one life, but half a dozen, and yet parts of her story have fallen into obscurity.
Maya Angelou And Still I Rise reflects on how the events of history, culture, and the arts shaped her life and how she, in turn, helped shape our own worldview through her autobiographical literature and activism.
About the Filmmakers
Maya Angelou And Still I Rise was produced by PBS and directed by Bob Hercules & Rita Coburn Whack. Find out more about the film at mayaangeloufilm.com.
Critic Reviews
“There’s so much else to be savored in And Still I Rise: Angelou living in Cairo with a South African anti-apartheid activist; Angelou encountering the legendary founding father of African American history, W.E.B. Du Bois, while living in Accra, Ghana; Angelou meeting, and adoring, the young James Baldwin in Paris in the early 1950s; Angelou having a whirl (and not just an artistic one, we are given to understand) with B.B. King; that time she married the ex of Germaine Greer; that conversation she had with Dave Chappelle just after he walked away from his $50 million contracts. It just goes on and on. At a loss for how else to describe her, John Singleton says of Angelou, “You have a woman who is like a tree trunk…like a redwood.” He’s talking about her majesty.” – Ben Dickinson. Elle. And Still She Rose: Learning More About the Moral, Majestic Maya Angelou. 21 Feb 2017
Official Trailer
You May Also Like
Share this film
Leave a Comment or Review
Everyone wants to know what you think!
Leaving a review not only helps others choose which films are right for them but also adds to the larger conversation about vegan living. If you haven't watched this film, visit the portfolio, find one you have, and let's get talking.
