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A black British dockworker named Johnny Zinga becomes a famous singer and learns that he is the rightful king of the African island of Casanga. Original title: Song of Freedom (1936)...
- 77 min
- 8.2K
- Cult Cinema Classics
Song of Freedom is a 1936 British musical drama film directed by J. Elder Wills and starring Paul Robeson. It is an early feature produced by Hammer Film Productions. Robeson plays John Zinga, a black dockworker in England with a great bass-baritone singing voice. He is discovered by an opera impresario and becomes an international star.
Christian hymns and songs about working life were reworked and repurposed to encourage resistance to apartheid. Songs written by professional musicians also got taken up and adapted by anti-apartheid protesters. These ‘freedom songs’ recorded and responded to key events in the struggle.
The songs from the liberation struggle are a historical record of the South African people’s resistance to apartheid. Collective choral singing created common bonds – not only did multiple voices combine, but the act of singing political songs together helped unite the singers.
Nov 1, 1992 · Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2024-02-23 15:16:20 Autocrop_version 0.0.17_books-serials-20230720-0.3 Boxid
1936 United Kingdom Directed by J. Elder Wills Written by Michael Barringer, Philip Lindsay Featuring Paul Robeson, Elisabeth Welch, Esmé Percy Running time
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Dec 31, 2014 · sound. Year. 1936. Although no-one could call this a great movie, it is of compelling historical interest. At a time when Black people in the movies were servants or scoundrels,...
