Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars - documentary review


How inspiring is this documentary?! Everyone should watch it! I'm referring to Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (click on the hyperlink for the official documentary website). Released in 2005 and directed by two American filmmakers, Zach Niles and Banker White, this documentary follows a group of 6 Sierra Leonean refugees who formed a band together in a refugee camp in Guinea during the war. We follow the band members over three years, while they move from camp to camp, and finally back to Freetown in Sierra Leone, at the end of the conflicts.

Amidst the horrors, the sadness, the despair, the poverty, the dying and the dead, music takes the form of unity, comfort, healing, survival and hope. For years the Refugee All Stars went from camp to camp, playing music to bring hope to other refugees, and since returning to Sierra Leone have recorded two albums, and have also toured the world, sharing their music and words with everyone who will listen.

The filmmakers and the band members themselves can provide more information themselves:
Documentary website
Band website

Seriously inspiring. Watch the documentary and buy the music - you won't be able to stop dancing, believe me.

"We needed a positive revolution."