Project Detail

Betty - They Say I'm Different

Synopsis

Funk Queen Betty Davis changed the landscape for female artists in America. She “was the first…” as former husband Miles Davis said. “Madonna before Madonna, Prince before Prince”. An aspiring songwriter from a small steel town, Betty arrived on the '70s scene to break boundaries for women with her daring personality, iconic fashion and outrageous funk music. She befriended Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, wrote songs for the Chambers Brothers and the Commodores, and married Miles – startlingly turning him from jazz to funk on the album she named “Bitches Brew”. She then, despite being banned and boycotted, went on to become the first black woman to perform, write and manage herself.
Betty was a feminist pioneer, inspiring and intimidating in a manner like no woman before. Then suddenly - she just vanished. Betty Mabry Davis is a global icon whose mysterious life story has until now, never been told. Creatively blending documentary, animation and nonfiction techniques, this movie traces the path of Betty’s life, after years of trying, the elusive Betty, forever the free-spirited Black Power Goddess, finally allowed the filmmakers to creatively tell her story based on their conversations.
Official Selection IDFA 2017 - World premiere

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Details

Year: 2017
Type of project: Shorts
Running time: 56 mins
Format: HD
Director: Phil Cox
Producer: Giovanna Stopponi, Laurent Mini, Damon Smith
Executive Producer: Catherine Bailey, Karim Samai
Editor: Esteban Uyarra
Director of Photography: Phil Cox
Animations: Kash

Genre

Music Black Dance

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

UK, France coproduction

A Native Voice Films Ltd (UK), La Compagnie des Taxi Brousse (FR) film, co-produced with Arte France (FR)

Native Voice Films Ltd

Phil Cox
37 Southborough Road
London
E9 7EF

p.cox@nativevoicefilms.com

Sales Company

Monoduo Films, International Sales & Distribution

Ben Bassauer
Wildenbruchplatz 5
12045 Berlin
Germany

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Betty - They Say I'm Different

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