Music on Film: Showcasing inspiring music docs from around the world and special guest speakers selected by The Royal Conservatory of Music.
One of the most talked-about films of 2015, Mavis! is the story of Gospel/soul music legend and civil rights icon Mavis Staples, filled with six decades of music and song. Lead singer of the Staple Singers—the acclaimed "first family of song" founded by Mavis’s father Roebuck "Pops" Staples—she fused gospel, soul, folk and rock to transcend racism and unite people through music. Special appearances by Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, Chuck D and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, among others, testify to her profound influence on American music. But it is Staples herself who is the shining star of Mavis! A consummate storyteller, she reveals intimate tales of her life onstage and off-from shout-outs on the Southern gospel circuit in the 1950s, freedom songs inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, to chart-busting hits in the 1970s and 1980s and her recent album One True Vine. The film glows with the power and spiritual grace of one of the most unforgettable voices of the century-leaving us both inspired and renewed. Lynne Fernie, Hot Docs
Includes a post-screening Q&A and short performance by singer Stacey Kay and pianist Bill King, moderated by Mervon Mehta, The Royal Conservatory of Music's Executive Director of Performing Arts.
Tickets: $16 (Bloor members: $12, $10, Free)
Presented by The Royal Conservatory of Music and Hot Docs.