Sophie Fiennes’ Grace Jones doc has a release date. Described by Fiennes as intimate and experiential, “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” shows a different side of the iconic singer-songwriter. At the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, where the doc makes its world premiere, the director told us that Jones “exists almost as a cultural construction — a visual fetish,” and she saw this project as a “unique opportunity to explore the person beyond that fascinating surface.”
The pic will open in New York on April 13 and in Los Angeles April 20, with a national rollout to follow, a press release revealed.
According to the film’s synopsis, “Bloodlight and Bami” “re-invents the music documentary as an electrifying journey through the performance, private, and public worlds of pop cultural icon [Jones],” whose “bold aesthetic echoes throughout the film.” Musical sequences are contrasted with intimate personal footage, “ultimately reaching beyond the iconic mask.” The doc was filmed over the course of several years.
Jones’ hits include “Slave to the Rhythm” and “Pull Up to the Bumper.” She’s also worked as a music producer, supermodel, and actress.
“Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow,” “The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology,” and “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema” are among Fiennes’ previous credits. She has a long history with the Jones family. Her 2001 doc “Hoover Street Revival” focuses on a Pentecostal church community in Los Angeles, and the sermons of its preacher, Bishop Noel Jones, Grace Jones’ brother.
