Sathima’s Windsong

Windsong is lyrical portrait of the life of South African jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin. Shot in New York and Cape Town, it is a celebration of Benjamin's work, a meditation on jazz and diaspora. In her Chelsea Hotel apartment, her home for over thirty years, she patches together her journeys: from apartheid South Africa and its 'pattern of brokenness'; to Europe and a chance meeting and recording with Duke Ellington; and later a fresh start in New York. Her narrative is interwoven with her music and the reflections of others. Much like her haunting song, Windsong, the film is an eloquent meditation on displacement, exile and belonging.