Under African Skies

“This is the story of how we begin to remember,” sings Paul Simon on the seminal album Graceland. Yet 25 years after that album’s release, we’ve begun to forget how much controversy his South African-based project generated by breaking various cultural embargoes. The acclaimed documentarian Joe Berlinger looks back at the many political and cultural forces that tried to stop the artist from pursuing his vision. The film also explores Simon’s creative process: “I don’t believe the government should be in the business of telling artists what to make their art about.” Or, as he sings on the album, “I know what I know. I’ll sing what I said. We come and we go. That’s a thing that I keep in the back of my head.”