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Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami

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Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami
UK theatrical release poster
Directed bySophie Fiennes
Produced by
StarringGrace Jones
CinematographyRemko Schnorr
Edited bySophie Fiennes
Music byIvor Guest
Production
company
Distributed byTrafalgar Releasing (UK)
Release dates
  • 7 September 2017 (2017-09-07) (TIFF)
  • 25 October 2017 (2017-10-25) (United Kingdom)
Running time
115 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
Languages
  • English
  • French

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami is a 2017 biographical documentary film about Jamaican singer Grace Jones, directed by Sophie Fiennes. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and subsequently met with generally favorable reviews.

The film's title references the red light that illuminates in a recording studio when an artist is in the process of recording, which Sly and Robbie would refer to as "bloodlight" when working with Jones, as well as bami, a traditional Jamaican flatbread.[1][2]

Background

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Grace Jones and Sophie Fiennes first met at the screening of a 2002 film about Noel Jones' church, Hoover Street Revival, which Fiennes had directed.[3] The two sparked a connection and decided to make a documentary together, which would end up being over twelve years in the making,[2] interrupted by Jones completing her band and working on a memoir, and Fiennes' pregnancy and other film projects.[3]

The documentary follows Jones as she is visiting her family in Jamaica, recording the Hurricane album, and touring internationally, including in Paris and New York City. Interwoven into the film is also concert footage, with live performances of "Slave to the Rhythm", "Williams' Blood", "This Is", "Warm Leatherette", "Nipple to the Bottle", "Pull Up to the Bumper", and "Love Is the Drug".

Release

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The film premiered on 7 September 2017 in Canada at the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival.[4] It was subsequently screened at El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt,[5] Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland,[6] Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival in Brazil,[7] Doclisboa in Portugal,[8] and Film Fest Gent in Belgium,[9] among others. In the UK, the film premiered on 25 October at the BFI Southbank,[10] followed by its cinema release on 27 October 2017.[11]

The documentary continued its run of festival screenings, premiering in Italy at Torino Film Festival in November 2017, in Norway at Tromsø International Film Festival in January 2018, in Denmark at CPH:DOX in March,[12] and in Turkey at International Istanbul Film Festival in April, among others. It was then released in the US, debuting in New York on 13 and Los Angeles on 20 April 2018.[13] In May, the film was presented at Docaviv in Israel, Docs Against Gravity in Poland,[14] and Beat Film Festival in Russia.

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami was released in the DVD and Blu-ray formats[15] as well as digital platforms such as iTunes Store and Netflix throughout 2018.[16][17] The physical release reached no. 2 on the UK Music Video Chart.[18]

Reception

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Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami met with generally favorable reviews. It has an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes[19] and holds a weighted average of 75/100 on Metacritic.[20] In a The Big Issue review, it was referred to as "bold and fascinating".[21] Los Angeles Times praised the film as a "rich, delicate tapestry of a life, where each thread is lovingly woven together to create a full picture".[22] Fiennes' approach was described as "cinematic and rousing"[23] as well as "moving and revealing".[24]

In a more mixed review, The Independent stated that the documentary is "fascinating and enjoyable" yet without explanatory voice-over or archive footage, it only gives "half a picture of its subject", leaving the audience to "clamour for more information".[25] Similarly, Empire referred to it as an "engaging, visually striking" and "fitting tribute to a music icon", but opined that it is "only partially successful" in an "attempt to uncover the 'real' Grace Jones".[26] Some reviewers also described the film as "devoid of backstory, context"[27] or "background of any kind".[28]

References

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  1. ^ "In conversation with... Grace Jones, on Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami". YouTube. November 2, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Grace Jones on Her 12-Year Documentary and Studio 54 Antics". YouTube. April 13, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Grace Jones & Sophie Fiennes | 'Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami' Q&A". YouTube. April 23, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Greg Evans (September 5, 2017). "'Grace Jones' Trailer: Pic Opens Toronto Docs Section". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  5. ^ Maha El Nabawi (September 28, 2017). "El Gouna Film Festival: Egypt's new annual film fest gets underway". www.thenationalnews.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  6. ^ Giorgia Del Don (September 15, 2017). "Zurich Film Festival honours women". cineuropa.org. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Felipe Ribeiro (September 28, 2017). "Festival do Rio 2017: Confira quais filmes estão concorrendo ao Prêmio Félix" (in Portuguese). www.adorocinema.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami". www.doclisboa.org. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "Archived: Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami". www.filmfestival.be. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  10. ^ Alistair Foster (October 26, 2017). "Grace Jones jumps around dressed as a bush for red carpet premiere of her new documentary". Evening Standard. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Carmen Gray (October 21, 2017). "Sexism and the music doc: 'Grace Jones has had her 15 minutes'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  12. ^ Anastasia Shekshnya (February 9, 2018). "CPH:DOX reveals the music programme for 2018!". cphdox.dk. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  13. ^ Wilson Morales (April 9, 2018). "Clips To Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami, In Theaters April 13". www.blackfilm.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  14. ^ "Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami – 15. Festiwal Filmowy Millennium Docs Against Gravity". docsag.pl. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "Search Results | HMV Store". hmv.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Is 'Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami' on Netflix UK? Where to Watch the Documentary". newonnetflix.info. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  18. ^ "Official Music Video Chart Top 50: 04 March 2018 - 10 March 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  19. ^ "Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  20. ^ "Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  21. ^ Edward Lawrenson (October 27, 2017). "Bloodlight and Bami, review – a glimpse behind the mask of Grace Jones". The Big Issue. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  22. ^ Katie Walsh (April 19, 2018). "Review: 'Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami' delivers textured profile of music/fashion icon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  23. ^ Fionnuala Halligan (September 8, 2017). "'Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami': Toronto Review". www.screendaily.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  24. ^ Olly Richards; Dan Cairns (October 29, 2017). "Film reviews: Breathe; Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami". The Sunday Times. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  25. ^ Geoffrey Macnab (October 26, 2017). "Film reviews round-up: Call Me By Your Name, Grace Jones documentary Bloodlight And Bami". The Independent. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  26. ^ Liz Beardsworth (October 23, 2017). "Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami Review". Empire. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  27. ^ Kevin Maher (October 27, 2017). "Film review: Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami". The Times. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  28. ^ G. Allen Johnson (April 26, 2018). "Cinema-verite direction gets in the way of showing the true Grace Jones". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
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