Black Film of the Week: STILL BILL (2009)
Directed by Damani Baker & Alex VlackÂ
Why: A favorite film of the staff, we had the documentary âStill Billâ on our list, but with the passing of its subject, legendary soul singer Bill Withers, we had to move this up. Â
âStill Billâ is easily one of the best music documentaries youâll ever see. Â
Covering the history of this passionate man, who before he broke into music served in the Navy and then made toilets for airplanes, the film charts his rise in the business and his decisions to leave it, to his life as an aged musician working to maintain a good relationship with his wife and children, specifically his daughter Kori, who is a burgeoning singer/songwriter like her pops.
What Baker, who you may also know from his personal docu âThe House on Coco Roadâ, and Vlack are able to do here is connect the audience with a man we think we know through his songs, but because he was never as mainstream as a Marvin Gaye nor stayed in the music business too long, we donât truly know - but by midway through the film will fall further in love with. Donât get it twisted though, the music does make this film rise to the top, entrancing audiences into Billâs life. Â
For many of us that didnât grow up in the early 70âs, through interviews with Bill, if you watched this film in its first run it was probably the first time you saw footage from the PBS show âSoulâ and its host/producer Ellis Haizlip, whose own dynamic life, as well as the showâs, was recently covered in the documentary âMr. Soulâ. There are also cameos from Cornel West, Sting, Corey Glover, and âThe Black Godfatherâ Clarence Avant.
âStill Billâ is a soul-stirring yet calming turn into Bill Withersâ life that you must see. You can rent âStill Billâ on iTunes for a small fee. Â
