Throw Down Your Heart

The American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck travels across Africa to explore the African roots of the banjo and records an album. He visits Mali, Gambia, Tanzania and Uganda, where he enjoys improvising with local musicians and picks up inspiration. On his musical exploration, he also discovers the beauty of Africa. Director and producer Sascha Paladino, Fleck's brother, followed the musician. The film offers a refreshingly cheerful view of the continent and reveals the vividness lying behind the stereotypes. One of the African musicians states, "There is this negative thinking about Africa. There is nothing good in Africa. They are beggars, there is HIV/AIDS... they are at war all the time. But that is just a very small bit of what Africa is." Of course, Throw Down Your Heart also addresses the history of colonialism and slavery as this is precisely how the banjo arrived in America but the tone is mainly optimistic.
That the energy the film exudes is very contagious was clear at its première at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. The audience clapped their hands after every musical performance, as if it were a live event. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)