{"id":1771,"date":"2019-04-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-02-19T13:02:36","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T13:02:36","slug":"beyonc-releases-new-film-and-live-album-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sonymusic.co.uk\/beyonc-releases-new-film-and-live-album-homecoming\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyonc\u00e9 releases new film and live album, \u2018Homecoming\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today, Netflix released Homecoming: A Film by Beyonc\u00e9,<\/em> which presents an intimate look at her historic 2018 Coachella performance that paid homage to America’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Interspersed with candid footage and interviews detailing the preparation and powerful intent behind her vision, Homecoming <\/em>gives a peek into the process and emotional physical sacrifices it took to conceptualise and execute a performance of that magnitude that became a cultural movement. The film is now available globally on Netflix<\/a>.\u00a0

As the first black woman to headline Coachella, Homecoming <\/em>recognises the African American visionaries who inspired Beyonc\u00e9<\/a>, including HBCU alums Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, activist Marian Wright Edelman, and scholar W.E.B. Du Bois, in addition to cultural luminaries such as Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Audre Lorde. Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s personal knowledge of the relevance and celebration of HBCUs started with her father, Mathew Knowles, an alumnus of Fisk University.\u00a0

Shot over eight months, the film follows the global entertainer as she returns to the stage after the birth of her twins, highlighting the comprehensive preparation involved in creating her groundbreaking performance, which included four months of band rehearsals followed by four months of dance rehearsals with over 150 musicians, dancers, and other creatives \u2013 all of whom were hand-picked by the artist herself.\u00a0

In juggling dual roles as both the director of her live performance and the film that captured the process of making it, Beyonc\u00e9 says, \u201cit was one of the hardest jobs I have taken on but I knew that I had to push myself and my team to go beyond great to legendary. We knew nothing like this was ever done on a festival level before and it needed to be iconic beyond compare. The performance was an homage to an important part of African American culture. It had to be true to those who know and entertaining and enlightening to those who needed to learn. In making the film and re-telling the story, the purpose remained the same.\u201d\u00a0

Many in the cast \u2013 band, singers, dancers and steppers \u2013 are former HBCU students, immersed in the HBCU marching band tradition. They joined Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s own group of performers, some who have toured with her for years. Viewers not only get to see the intense dance rehearsals and talent of these amazing artists, but hear their personal journey from HBCU student to artist and the lifelong impact that comes with performing alongside Beyonc\u00e9 in this historic concert.\u00a0

\u201cSo many people who are culturally aware and intellectually sound are graduates from historically black colleges and universities, including my father,\u201d she says in the film. \u201cThere is something incredibly important about the HBCU experience that must be celebrated and protected.\u201d\u00a0

As a treat to her fans, the film also includes, in the end credits, her remake of \u2018Before I Let Go\u2019 by Frankie Beverly and Maze, a 1981 R&B classic that\u2019s commonly performed at HBCU games. The single will be available on the film\u2019s soundtrack, Homecoming: the Live Alb<\/a><\/font><\/u>um<\/a><\/em> available today from Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.\u00a0

Homecoming: A Film by Beyonc\u00e9 <\/em>was directed and produced by Beyonc\u00e9 Knowles-Carter. Longtime collaborator Ed Burke served as co-director. Steve Pamon and Erinn Williams are executive producers.\u00a0
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