The documentary from the 400,000-person Cuban concert is finally available to non-Sundance judges
There is a neighbor to the south. Across a body of water nearly 150 miles across, there already exists a wall between us and our Spanish-speaking cousins. On either side lies equal bits salvation and destruction, and last year, the dark knight who left his perch atop the highest post in the world began building a bridge between our worlds, one lined in olive branches.
Over the past 10 months, those leaves dried and turned to kindling, ignited by the hot-tempered ego of a man whose combover wicks marigold like the dancing perimeter of destruction.
While a handshake with our Cuban counterparts may still be some years away for the everyday American, Trump could not stop a tripartite of modern electronic music from taking American music directly across the aquatic DMZ. In March, Major Lazer performed for 400,000 Cuban nationals.
On November 17, you will get to participate in the experience as well.
“Give Me Future,” the Austin Peters’ documentary made about the first major American musicians playing in Cuba since the 1960s’ severing of diplomatic relations, will make its worldwide debut exclusively on Apple Music.
At its origins, the producers’ desire to take their Caribbean beats back to the area that inspired them. Well, specifically to a territory mostly untouched by western influence. And, this flick traces the subsequent 18 months of planning that went into the effort.
So, Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire, the three deejays who constitute Major Lazer, ventured to Havana with hopes to collaborate with the artists that help shape their own communities. What evolves is a snapshot of a young culture on the precipice of major social shifts.
In addition to the film, which had its true debut at Sundance Film Festival, an album will be concurrently released. “Major Lazer Presents: Give Me Future — Music from and Inspired by the Film” features new and unreleased tracks from the trio, as well as music from the Cuban crews that can be heard in the film. Most notably from the island is the emerging sensation of dual Cuban/Jamaican descent Herizen Guardiola. Producer Valentino Khan and the ought years rapper Sean Paul also appear on the album.
The cross-cultural handshakes these collaborations seem to embody stand sacrament to Major Lazer’s ethos, director Peters said in a press release.
“Major Lazer is a global band, and it was our goal from the onset to present this film to the largest and most diverse audience worldwide,” he said. “As a filmmaker, I am thrilled to be working with Apple Music to structure a worldwide release for a documentary that is as much about the music as it is the Cuban youth culture.”
Diplo had words for the work as well.
“Major Lazer’s time in Havana was one of the most important and moving experiences of our lives,” he said. “The people we met and spoke to, the things we saw and the show we played had a profound impact on us, and Austin captured it perfectly. It feels even more impactful to share this with the world in light of current events, and we’re stoked for you to see it.”
