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Barbara Dane Documentary Film

The Arhoolie Foundation is proud to sponsor the production of the new documentary film The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane on the life and music of Barbara Dane.

Donate to the Barbara Dane Film.

Filmmakers Maureen Gosling and Jed Riffe have joined forces with Nina Menéndez (Director of the Barbara Dane Legacy Project) to produce and release the feature-length documentary, The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane.

In The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane, American history gets a high-energy shakeup in the story of a blues/jazz/folk singer, activist, feminist, record producer, and committed troublemaker. Dane’s nine-decade journey shreds existing narratives around 1940s communism, 1950s white femininity, the 1960s folk scene, the 1970s GI Anti-War movement, and the 1980s Iran-Contra affair. Her unbending principles guide her through notoriety and obscurity into music legend.

Still going strong in her early 90s, Dane’s dynamic contemporary life offers a jumping off point to recount how she turned many setbacks into opportunities and provides deep inspiration for generations of musicians and activists.

Featuring:
The Chambers Brothers, Pablo Menéndez, Bonnie Raitt, Jane Fonda, Gary Giddens (jazz critic),
Estela Bravo (Cuban filmmaker), as well as archival footage and music of Jessie Fuller, Louis
Armstrong, Pete Seeger, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Tammy Hall and much more.

  • Director/Editor – Maureen Gosling (This Ain’t No Mouse Music!, Burden of Dreams)
  • Producer – Jed Riffe (Ishi, The Last Yahi, Pleistocene Park)
  • Executive Producer – Nina Menéndez (Tropicola); daughter of Barbara Dane
  • Cinematographer – Ashley James
  • Graphic Design & Animation – Sianey Montes de Oca

Your donation will help us pay for the music rights so we can launch the film into the world this fall. Thank you!

Donate to the Barbara Dane Film.9

Dear friends, 

We’re thrilled to announce that the Arhoolie Foundation and Les Blank Films are joining together to purchase our longtime home at 10341 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. 

The decision to buy the building comes after several months of thoughtful consideration and a strong response from our community. It has become clear to us that continuing our work in the place where Chris Strachwitz originally conceived it is the best way forward for the organization. Staying in our longtime home preserves an important part of Arhoolie’s cultural legacy, prevents the disruption that moving would cause, and—most importantly—opens up possibilities for closer collaboration with Les Blank Films, Down Home Music, and our local East Bay community.

Now comes the hard part. While we are under contract to buy the building, we need to raise $2.4 million to meet the purchase price by April 15. Here are two ways you can donate to our cause:

  • The GoFundMe page for the capital campaign
    (donations to this fund are shared by all three of the tenants).

  • Direct tax-deductible donations/securities to either of the two non-profits who are buying the building:
    Contact Harrod Blank at Les Blank Films https://lesblank.com/contact/;
    or Adam Machado at Arhoolie Foundation, adam@arhoolie.org.

As we begin this capital campaign, we will continue our normal operations in the building while forging a closer institutional bond with Les Blank Films and taking modest, collaborative steps to bring more public programming into Down Home Music. We plan to revive Les Blank and Chris’ tradition of in-store film screenings and will host more informal, free performances and gatherings in the store as part of our outreach work. We believe this collaboration will result in a vibrant community gathering place dedicated to music, film, and deep roots culture. 

We’re grateful for your support. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming weeks and months.