Producer-produced doc ‘The Blind Couple From Mali’ begins shooting; Development partners include CBC’s Documentary Channel and MediaOne

Exclusive: Documentary Blind couple from MaliDedicated to the famous West African musical duo Amadou and Mariam, principal photography has begun.

The film is directed by Canadian director Ryan Marley and follows blind, musical duo and married couple Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia as they prepare for the concert of a lifetime in their native Mali, in hopes that it will unite their war-torn country.

Shooting will take place in early 2023 in Paris, Barcelona, ​​London and Bamako, the capital of Mali.

The work will tell the untold story of the couple’s global success over the past four decades and the development of their unique sound combining West African influences with rhythm and blues.

It will feature never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews with the duo as well as renowned music artists and experts.

“We were embedded with Amadou and Mariam during the most important years of their lives, on tour, in the studio and at their homes in Paris and Mali,” says Marley. “For the audience, it will be a true follow doc, true experience. Amadou and Mariam have never given this access before.”

The documentary brings together a team of filmmakers with a track record of telling stories about accessibility and people with disabilities.

Marley’s previous credits include short documentaries Sitting tall: The Patrick Anderson storey and Candidate 34.

The short followed Canadian wheelchair basketball champion Anderson as he prepares for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, while the latter title explored the story of Peruvian Canadian Brian Russell, who became the first person with Down syndrome to run for public office anywhere in the world. Peru enters the 2020 parliamentary elections.

More recent credits include episodes of the award-winning Canadian documentary series I am employable which tells the stories of job seekers who prove that physical disabilities or neurological conditions will not prevent them from being successful candidates.

Photographer Paul Duck (I am employable) and author Sonia Goding Togobo (becoming queen) are also linked to production.

Toronto-based Makers Global Producer Network is producing the film, which is co-produced with CBC’s Documentary Channel and Paris-based content group MediaOne.

The production team includes Makers executive producer Katie Lafferty, who served as series producer; I am employable and produced Candidate 34and Michelle Asgerly, who produced Breaking character About six disabled performers.

“Everyone involved in the project is a huge fan of Amadou and Mariam’s music,” says Lafferty. “We hope this film will introduce them to a whole new audience.”

I am employable It won the Diversify TV Excellence Award at MIPCOM 2017 and 2020, as well as the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Rocky Awards and a 2022 Canadian Screen Award.

Candidate 34which was co-produced by Lionsgate’s Unscripted division, Pilgrim Media Group, won the Filmslam Audience Choice Award at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Blind couple from Mali Produced in association with CBC’s Documentary Channel and MediaOne.

Grammy nominee Bagayoko and Doumbia both lost their sight at a young age. They met through the Eclipse Orchestra of the Institute for the Blind in Mali.

They began releasing and performing their own original numbers in the 1980s, mixing traditional Malian sounds and modern influences, and then began touring as a duo in the mid-1980s.

Career highlights include the award-winning 2005 album Dimanche Bamako; 2006 FIFA World Cup Hit Music Celebrate the day and the Grammy-nominated 2008 album Welcome to Mali Featuring artists K’Naan, Keziah Jones, -M- and Damon Albarn.

They are regulars on the international concert and music festival circuit and have performed at Coachella, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, among many other events, and supported mega-band U2.

Living between Paris and Bamako, the pair regularly hit the tour circuit on their own and currently have dates lined up in the US in March.