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Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars

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Premiere Date: June 27, 2007

Synopsis

If the refugee is today's tragic icon of a war-ravaged world, then Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, a reggae-inflected band born in the camps of West Africa, represents a real-life story of survival and hope. The six-member Refugee All Stars came together in Guinea after civil war forced them from their native Sierra Leone. Traumatized by physical injuries and the brutal loss of family and community, they fight back with the only means they have — music. The result is a tableau of tragedy transformed by the band's inspiring determination to sing and be heard. A Diverse Voices Project co-production.

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TAGS: africa, african music, afro beat, music, musicians, refugee all stars, sierra leone, war, world music

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Filmmakers

Banker White

Banker White

view interview »

Zach Niles

Zach Niles

May they continue to use their 'pens,' their voices, their strings to bring happiness — no more war, no more guns..”


— jbmcd, Viewer

Film Update

Critical Acclaim

The story they tell, and tell well, is how the All Stars' songs ... first raise their own spirits, then those of their neighbors, then ... other camps too. The story told here is simple, and ultimately triumphant."


– Daniel M. Gold,
The New York Times


It's as easy to fall in love with these guys as it was with the Buena Vista Social Club."


– Vanessa Juarez
Newsweek

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