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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,

On Giving Tuesday, we announced the capital campaign to purchase our building at 10341 San Pablo Ave in El Cerrito — home to the Arhoolie Foundation (and before that Arhoolie Records), Les Blank Films, and Down Home Music Store since 1976. We’ve been heartened by the community’s response to our fundraising announcement. To all who have donated so far: thank you. We couldn’t do this without you.

Now, while there is a contract in place to buy the building in partnership with Les Blank Films, we need to raise $1.2 million — our half of the purchase price — by April 15. Donations to the campaign can be made via the link below, by check, or by bank transfer. (To make a bank transfer, please email us at info@arhoolie.org).

In the new year, we look forward to collaborating with Les Blank Films and Down Home Music to bring more public programming to our community. We plan to revive Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz’s 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.

If you’re interested in donating and would like to discuss our plans for the building, please don’t hesitate to email director Adam Machado at adam@arhoolie.org.

Thank you for your support as we begin this exciting new chapter!

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