Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life (1935)

Highly Recommended

USA

Short Film

Director: Fred Waller

Writers: Milton Hockey, Fred Rath

Cinematographer: William Steiner Jr.

Cast: Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Earl 'Snakehips' Tucker

Duke Ellington is sat at his piano composing; we enter his head and see both his vision of the final piece (with full orchestra) and also the everyday experiences and emotions of the ordinary black Americans that have inspired the work, in this highly stylised, beautifully photographed, and generally awe-inspiring short film. Iain.Stott