MAMA Africa is the a celebration of the life and times of South African singer and activist Miriam Mekeba. It's told via archival footage and interviews with friends and family. The film is like getting to know the feel of it's subject rather than a straight forward biography of her life. I think the best term would be tone poem, which considering the wall to wall and non-stop music is, I think apt. We watch how Miriam sings, gets involved in politics (though as she said "I never sing about politics, I only sing the truth"),raises a family and sings some more. Its a wonderful celebration of a life and of music.I grew up on the music thanks to my moms (both of them) who loved the songs, so I was in heaven as long as the songs played.The trouble for me came about half way in when I realized that as good as an over view of the life the film is, it really isn't all that detailed. I mean once we get passed about 1964 any sense of time goes out the window (We learn of the death of her daughter and how it affected her only to jump back in time to talk about her and other things.) It's a quibble of a sort since the film is very entertaining and the sort of thing I'll get on DVD just so I can use the film as a sort of musical mix.

It sometimes surprises me how people see films so differently. I read here another review of Mama Africa and disagree with what it says about the film. I also find the the subject matter very interesting, but I also find the film is very well made, the story was exceptionally well told and constructed. Besides being so informative, it is also very entertaining and emotional. My only concern during the film was, that I hoped it would not end. I saw the film at the Berlin Film Festival in February and my impression was that most people in the audience felt like me. I did hardly know anything about Miriam Makeba before seeing the film, but it made me her fan, what amazing woman she was.

Just saw this film at the hotdocs film fest in Toronto. I knew nothing of the subject matter, Miriam Makeba heading into it. Being a music enthusiast I was excited to see this movie and expand my musical history knowledge. The story of Mama Africa was moving, emotional, inspirational and left me wanting to learn more about her and her music. But as a movie I felt it lacked a flow or cohesion. The film was done using mostly archival footage as Miriam Makeba died shortly before filming started, leaving the director with a very difficult task. I enjoyed the documentary but felt it was sort of thrown together with whatever pieces were available. Watch this film to learn more about the story of Mama Africa.