B I D L A
Bidla means "change" in Maltese. A documentary by Amanda Eke. Bidla explores the music fusion of Ghana (traditional Maltese Folk Music) and Hip-Hop on the Mediterranean Island of Malta through the lens of Hip-Hop artists and cultural anthropologists.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Amanda Eke
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I came to discover Malta in the summer of 2017, through a Fulbright Fellowship. My purpose for moving there was simple, I was an English teacher to Primary, Secondary and University Level students. However, the country’s charm and music made me stay a while longer. Besides teaching, I was performing Spoken Word Poetry in and out of clubs and bars in the underground scenes in Malta.
Through that, I discovered a group of Maltese musicians performing a one-of-a-kind ballad and it was called, Għana (pronounced A-na). Għana at my first listen sounded like something I had never heard before; my ears were stunned hearing high pitched noises coming from these men’s voices.
As I saw them go back and forth with one another trading one high pitched verse, for another high-pitched verse I became intrigued at the synchronicity of it all. I asked locals and discovered this, Għana is a rhyming conversational form of music in Malta, and it was performed originally by women on rooftops to communicate to neighboring women. Contemporary Għana is now performed exclusively by men and consists of either ballads or “completive arguments” sung by at least two men accompanied by guitar. I immediately connected the impromptu style of Għana to battle rap.
To my surprise, others in Malta had connected those dots too, and through some digging I discovered the quiet and humble whispers of the underground Hip-Hop community within Malta. Through that I discovered Hip-Hop artists on the Island who were combining the two genres, Għana, and Hip-Hop, into a whole new sound. It was then that the seeds of my film were born, I knew HAD to document this phenomenon going on and tell the world.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
My film, BI D L A, really does delve into that aspect of the “idea” of Għana as a dying art form and what the politics around that are. It is important to note, Għana has been combined with many other music genres throughout the years as the film shows. It is important to not confuse preservation with mummification.
B I D L A, even looks at the younger generation that are making Għana music with their parents, [Recent 2020 Malta’s Got Talent Winner’s Lydon and Jomike Agius make an appearance in the film].
I think what the hybridization of Hip-Hop with Għana does is bring a new audience to Għana. Hip-Hop now is one of the most popular forms of music globally and brings a massive audience with that.
We see as these artists in the film have combined both genres into one new sound, through the creation of hybridity with Għana and Hip-Hop, in which it is helping to bring forward a generation of past identity forward. The film will be loved by Hip-Hop lovers and Folk music lovers alike!
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Over the shooting period of one month, this film encompasses live performance, interview, song production and recovery of archival footage. To truly represent the music of Malta and its combination with Hip-Hop the visual aesthetics represent a time shown through the lens of both new and old. The film begins with an Introduction of Malta, showing recovered archival footage of a scenic shot of the island above, displaying the island and its topographical contents.
We see an archipelago that sits still, frozen in time. Then with brief adjustments to the film, we see archival interplays to scenes of labor and work. We see older footage of people as they toil away in the fields, working domestic day laborer jobs, cutting fish on boards, winding rope for a sailboat.
All to the tune of Rapper REA and her hip hop song. The music, Hip-Hop and Għana as utilized, provides snapshots of experience at each cross-section of time - just like the archival images the audience is shown throughout the film, just like the interviews, just like the videos. We use music to tell our stories. Music provides an important, necessary, and vital piece to this documentary. Music plays to personal and universal themes in this film with both the older generation to the newer one, through visuals and sounds.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
No other documentary film work has been made contemplating these two genres and their combination on the island country of Malta or anywhere else in the world. Shooting B I D L A was in every way was a passion project. I am a spoken word poet and artist myself and have toured globally. Through that experience brought great grounding and influence on the vision I had for my film. As it pertains to my directorial style, let me say this: Visuals and audio have great power.
They tap on that part of our brain that works silently in the background of our waking moments. It manages what we see and conjures emotion. Likewise, the nuances in speech, words, and tone, hit us very deep. Navigating the world, we are constantly hit with a huge amount of information that becomes the fabric for our sense of being. Moving with the times of music in Malta has evolved the vision of the film DAILY, as people intercept and understand culture differently as each day passes.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been WONDERFUL! The film has challenged both old and new stereotypes on music and culture in Malta, while also introducing a whole new platform for new artists combining the two art forms. The film has brought nostalgia to many as they remember the old folk songs of Ghana from their childhoods, mixed with Hip Hop.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback has given me a new point of view of collaboration. Music is to be shared and the impact this film has had and will continue to have is truly remarkable in how our past is not far away from our present, and this can be seen through the music we make and share.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I am looking to achieve absolute visibility and opportunities for distribution, management, funding and all the like. This film is very special and I believe can be taken to new heights with the right eyes seeing it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
To amplify B I D L A 's message even LOUDER, I need producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists, lawyers, collaborators all alike to come aboard to assist me on this journey to help the world see oral traditions through music and how important and RELEVANT this movie's message is today.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
A long lasting legacy of understanding oral traditions. One thing unique to Hip-Hop is its reflection on the unique importance of space and identity. From its very inception in New York City in the 1980s, representing one’s neighborhood at battles was a central part of the culture. The idea of place is huge. These ties are present and reflected by MC’s names, languages and local slang as well as in references to specific geographical markers and signature musical styles of a particular locality.
This is like the artists who performed, Ghana folk music in Malta, where ones locale tells a narrative and music style is represented through that. Through this we see a marker of common issues of marginalization and contested localities being negotiated by both Għana and Hip-Hop. What these place-identities tell us about the political, socio-geographic, and cultural context in which Hip-Hop culture is produced is poignant throughout Għana.
Hip-Hop and Rap is being used in Malta in contemporary times to perform the initial functions of it in the 1980s, to tell the stories of the people. Odes to neighbourhood’s, stories of the dysfunction happening in society etc. What is significant about my film, B I D L A, is it looks at artists on the island that have combined these two genres bringing the past and combining it with the present for a different look at identity and meanings for the future.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How can artists combine music genres, bringing the past and combining it with the present, for a different look at identity and meanings for the future?
Would you like to add anything else?
B I D L A has won the distinct honor of being played at the JOHN F KENNEDY Center's Real 2 Reel Film Festival in July 2021. A portion of the film has now been archived at the Kennedy Center.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am host and creator of The Poet Speaks Podcast (Available on all streaming platforms), I interview poets from all over the world engaging in Spoken Word, Slam Poetry and oral traditions.
My show was named as one of Strategic Media Inc's "Top 5 Podcasts by Black Creators" in February 2022. It has now been seen in over 20 countries across all seven continents with over 1 million views of the platform's content. The poets on the show have included Slam Poetry champions from over 5 countries around the world as well as numerous Poet Laureate winners and authors. The podcast has also done video work at the KOTOBA Grand Slam Poetry Championships of Japan and the vlog/ video for that content has now become a viral hit across Japan.
Currently in development and pitching to turn this into a show for Television.
https://www.amandaeke.com/podcast
In addition, I am a Spoken Word artist, and educator currently living in Japan. I work with Spoken Word and the fusion of culture through it and oral tradition. I run a global touring workshop teaching people all about the basics of Spoken Word, rhyme and oral tradition based on my Nigerian Igbo Oral Heritage.
Interview: August 2022
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
B I D L A
Length:
28:50
Writer/Director/Producer
Amanda Eke is a Nigerian American Artist, Spoken Word Poet, Film-Maker, and Educator. Unable to read until she was 7, she has forged a career as an artist in many mediums and has helped so many discover their own “voice” through her work. She has won numerous awards including a Fulbright Fellowship for her scholarship and a UN (United Nations) Award for her artistry work.
She uses her love for writing, film, and music to address socio-political issues, and contemporary culture prevalent in society today. Her global touring workshop series, "The Poet Speaks" is an engaging experience into the culture of Spoken word, rhyme, and tradition, held for all ages. Amanda is also the host of a podcast show of the same name, The Poet Speaks Podcast, that has her speaking to Spoken Word Artists and performing poets from all over the world.
Key cast:
Rachelle Deguara : Rachelle Deguara (REA) REA is a product of the emerging Maltese Hip-Hop scene. A woman who has been producing songs and poetry on themes of social justice and the environment. She runs her small business – Mellowmoon, produces Hip-Hop under the stage name of REA and is an active member of Movement Graffitti, a social justice organization in Malta. She is known for presenting the multidisciplinary engagements organized within the communities of Malta. Through her music, she presents a fusion of old traditional Għana with the more contemporary Rap and Hip-Hop genre music.
Andrew Alamango : Andrew Alamango is an Ethnomusicologist, guitarist, composer and music promoter from Malta, who has been active since the 1990s. Alamango embarked on a project to recuperate Malta's early musical recordings. In 2010 he undertook the restoration and eventual re-release of thirty 78rpm shellacs from the 1930s, published in his book entitled Malta's Lost Voices.
Ranier Fsadni : Ranier Fsadni is a columnist for The Times of Malta and a lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Malta. He has served as chairman of the Academy for the Development of a Democratic Environment, a Euro-Mediterranean think tank; adviser on Mediterranean and maritime affairs to the prime minister of Malta; adviser to the Maltese Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Arab League, and director of operations of the European Commission-League of Arab States Liaison Office. He is a researcher in the field of Għana, and one of the only academic writers in the world on it.
Andrea Delicata : Andrea Delicata is ½ of the Maltese Hip-Hop group, Marmalja, the Maltese word for ‘rabble.’ Which perfectly captures the nature of the act. Essentially a duo but often accompanied by a full band onstage, their rap is fueled by angst, rebellion and protest, infused with Traditional Għana. Their song, Marija s-Sabiħa, was a big Maltese Music Short film which blends Għana with Hip-Hop, something that had never been done before at the time. In 2015 they released an underground Maltese rap album called “Demm Ġdid”.
Looking for:
sales agents, journalists, film festival directors, distributors, producers, buyers
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/the_poet_speaks
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BIDLA2020
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/aekeful/
Hashtags used:
#BIDLA
More info:
https://www.amandaeke.com/film
Screenings 2022:
May 21-22
Hip Hop Cinefest Film Festival (Rome, Italy)
June 23-26
12th Annual
Charlotte Black Film Festival (Charlotte, North Carolina)
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