One of the most celebrated documentaries of the past year, SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALLSTARS tells the remarkable story of an inspiring group of musicians who form a band while living in a West African refugee camp. Set against the backdrop of a brutal civil war, the film details the group's heroic stories of survival and their daily struggle to keep hope and music alive. SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS is a unique tribute to the transcendent power of music and a triumphant celebration of the human spirit.
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars are a band of six Sierra Leonean musicians who came together to form a band while living in a refugee camp in Guinea. Many of their family and friends were murdered in the war, leaving each of them with physical and emotional scars that may never heal. Despite the unimaginable horrors of civil war, they were saved and brought hope and happiness to their fellow refugees through their music.
SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS chronicles the band over three years, from Guinean refugee camps back to war-ravaged Sierra Leone, where they realize the dream of recording their first studio album. And so begins a musical phenomenon that is making the world hear the voices of West Africa’s refugees – through the film Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have been able to launch an international musical career, while drawing the accolades of Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Ice Cube (one of the executive producers of the film), and Joe Perry.
Filmakers Zack Niles and Banker White made this “ film in Africa that gave a more human face to the story without neglecting the realities that exist. …The idea of refugee musicians came to us as a way of exploring how people keep their culture alive and how people keep their hope alive in a displaced situation.”—Zack Niles
www.refugeeallstars.org
The Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars are featured with Aerosmith performing "Give Peace A Chance" on the recently released CD Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.