Sing, Freetown review – a beautiful ode to reclaiming one’s history
This documentary about the revival of Sierra Leone's theatrical scene is as slippery and multifaceted as the nation it pays tribute to
Fittingly for a documentary concerned with changing narratives in order to show the diversity of a nation behind its often disastrous headlines, Sing, Freetown is a slippery, multi-faceted film. What initially appears to be an account of the attempt to revitalise the theatrical scene of Sierra Leone, folding in the country’s fascinating but frequently tragic history, slowly turns into a study of a friendship, and how the artistic process can challenge relationships, no matter where you are in the world.
Clive Patterson’s film follows Sorious Samura, a Sierra Leone-born journalist working in Britain, and his old friend and teacher Charlie Haffner, who founded the country’s foremost theatre troupe, as they work together to try and put on a play that will restore some national pride and hope for the future. It’s a noble goal, but one that seems impossible in the face of political intransigence, money troubles, and deadly natural disasters rocking Sierra Leone.
Sorious and Charlie make for charismatic leads, close friends with diametrically opposed approaches to life – Sorious is a meticulous planner while Charlie goes where his feelings take him – and seeing the strain the play puts on their friendship is deeply affecting, as is the love each man has for his homeland. This is a love letter to Sierra Leone and its potential to overcome its brutal past of slavery and resource-stripping colonists and the play itself, about a couple attempting to recapture capital city Freetown’s golden age as an intellectual hub of West Africa, is beautiful.
The work clearly means the world to the creators and cast, and their unmitigated joy at putting on an epic show, one that utterly transcends its limited resources, makes for a delightful finale that also carries a bittersweet taste as Sorious and Charlie wonder how much of a difference they’ve really made. To create art in the long and lingering shadow of western imperialism is a monumental task, but Sing, Freetown captures that difficulty with both reverence and a lightness of touch, creating a balance that perfectly reflects its lovable lead duo.
Sing, Freetown is now showing in cinemas.
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