Director's Statement

I've known about Valerie Naranjo's many musical talents for some time, and when I began to investigate documentary projects about the power of music, she immediately came to mind. Had I only concentrated on her affinity for African percussion it would have made an interesting film, but as we talked about her background I also realized she was of Native American ancestry, a practicing Buddhist, and the percussionist for both NBC's Saturday Night Live Band and Broadway's mega-hit musical The Lion King. I had found a subject rich with cinematic possibilities!

We began shooting in the early autumn of 2007 and it didn't take long for Valerie's strong affinity for the gyil (pronounced JEEL-EE) to become apparent. It was when she recalled the effect her first journey to Ghana had on a local custom concerning women however, that the theme of the film truly emerged. I knew that this was the story I wanted to tell, and it stood out even with a character that offered so many possibilities for the screen.

Valerie is a born storyteller and extremely articulate so the challenge then became how to visually tell a story that had happened 20 years earlier. Luckily for us, she had been back to Ghana in spring of 2007 to attend the memorial for her musical mentor Kakraba Lobi and some of the musical performances had been caught on film. Weaving this archival footage in with her narrative helped to recreate the mood, time, and place of her initial experience, and made the retelling of her story possible.

Ultimately, I see the film as a compelling expression of how following one's passion, wherever it leads, can inspire others to think in new and expanded ways about their own power to effect change.