Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
2 appearances
Artist and director; his art won the Turner Prize and his film 'Twelve Years a Slave' won the Best Picture Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe.
On the island
Eight records
I think it's one of the my dad had this brand new stereo, you know, in the late 70s, early 80s. What did it look like? Oh man, it was just this beautiful silver record player with the beautiful massive speakers. Me and my sister was like, oh my god, this is amazing. And of course, my dad was, you know, West Indian, the Sunday would blare out Jim Reeds. And of course, when their mom and dad went away, and also my dad had bought this one Michael Jackson album. I don't know why, I think my uncle was a drummer, gave it to him. And when they were out, we would play this record. Oh my God, we would dance, we would sweat. And of course, at the time, Michael Jackson being this sort of black superstar, it was just, yeah, great times.
A bit of light in the darkness. Raspberry Beret by Prince. No, it's Joy. I mean, I was a huge Prince fan growing up, of course. It was as if James Brown and the Beatles had a baby. And, you know, and this song is beautiful. It's sexy. It's fun. It's all about being young, you know. It's fantastic. Joy.
I remember uh seeing them on top of the pops and the way they looked, you know, Terry Hall being like so this kind of Buster Keaton. And these two black guys, you know, just really jumping around and having fun, and it was just so cool.
Blue in GreenFavourite
I remember being first giving uh a tassette of a kind of blue by a guy called Adam Thorpe and he said, Oh, you don't know jazz? I said, I'm not so I don't really know jazz very well. Oh, well, take this. This is like introduction. I listened to this album and and it was just … I can't tell you, and this has stayed in my heart. I mean, this is, you know. Forgive me for not being morbid. When I die, this is going to be played at my funeral. Absolutely. Um, just beautiful, beautiful.
I just think when he came out it was just a phenomenon. He again, from all the artists that we've seen until now, was trying things out, was experimenting. And of course they will facilitate it. By the record companies. But you know, we believe in you, let's go for it. It's about belief. Again, that we talk about the movie industry and trust. And I think when you trust people, or you believe in people, or you have faith in people, this is what happens. Genius.
Oh my goodness. Yeah, um this is beautiful again. This is Glen Gaul. Uh Goldman variations Bach um just What can I say, what can I say about this piece of music? Is it there's a truth? It's like a scent, a smell. I don't know. It it I know it. It's so kind of personal, but then again, so sort of foreign.
I I rang her one time, okay, but I was lucky enough just to to to to to speak to her, actually a couple of times. Um it's just just she um Looking for things, searching, experimenting, you know, having the power to do that. And I imagine that, you know, especially as a woman in particular, to have that kind of authority over your work. It's pretty amazing. This is the result of it. Again, genius.
We're gonna hear Power by Kanye West. He went to a show of mine at the Schulager in Basel. I had a very big retrospective there. And Kenny saw the show and he called me. And we just got on very, very, very well. You know, he's someone who's very, you know, I would say misunderstood. And I think he's, you know, he's quite fearless. And, you know, he's experimenting, he's finding things out. He's an artist who is pushing the medium.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:19What's essential to you in a movie?
Truth, um whatever that is. And there are many trues, of course. You could smell it. You know, there's a sort of um Universality to it. That's the kind of films I'm interested in. That's the kind of art I'm interested in.
Presenter asks
5:06When the hype of winning the Academy Award subsides, what does life feel like?
Well, it it hasn't y it the the plane has just landed right now, so it it's kinda nice to sort of um have your feet on the ground and um yeah, there's still a buzz.
Presenter asks
5:35Can you remember the sensation when you began reading Solomon Northup's words?
Wow. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I was at the same time reading it and being amazed by it. I was kind of angry with myself. How did I not know this book? How did I not know it? And how how wasn't Solomon Northrop's name known throughout the world? And that's when I decided I had to make this in into a film. … I wanted to sort of let the world know about it, really.
The keepsakes
The book
James Baldwin
You know, again, it's similar to a lot of the artists here... I love that.
Presenter asks
Tell me about your mother.
Oh, she's great. I mean, she's She's strong. I mean, she's she's strong and goodness gracious, I mean, without her I wouldn't be sitting and talking to you now, I'll be honest. … I'm very lucky. I'm very lucky to have a mother like that. She always told me do what you want to do.
Presenter asks
14:27What was going through your head when you were in that class and you were pretty much being told manual labor's the thing?
I I don't they I don't think they they they didn't actually didn't come out with that. They would never do that, of course. But I just had a belief in in myself and what I wanted to do. It's one of those things where you just have to there's a feeling. And art was one of those things. Art was my salvation. My foundation course in Church School of Art was the first time I I could breathe.
Presenter asks
19:26How do you think you'll manage to thrive professionally if you want to keep making movies that are distributed but you're not going to make a formula film?
Easy. It's it's e easy. I don't need money. When you don't need money, you're free. You do what you want to do. Tell me to make an offer you is money. If you don't need it, you don't want it. But There's nothing there. There's there's no there's no enticement.
“Truth, um whatever that is. And there are many trues, of course. You could smell it. You know, there's a sort of um Universality to it.”
“I am not interested in manipulating people. Complete opposite. I'm interested in a truth. Now, the funny thing is that the most horrific things sometimes happen in the most beautiful places.”
“Art was my salvation. My foundation course in Church School of Art was the first time I I could breathe.”
“I'm a black man. I'm used to that. … Before I walk in the room people make a judgment. You know, I don't care.”