Diplo’s spin through the 2017 Sundance Film Festival will be all out. The “Jah No Partial” hitmaker is not just dropping in to DJ a cellphone company’s VIP bash like in years past.
Instead, the merry-making social-media sorcerer, “Peace is the Mission” evangelist and musical collaborator-in chief is making two separate trips to Park City: once for your ears and once for your eyes (and ears).
On the festival’s opening weekend, the “Lean On” and “Cold Water” beat maker arrives to promote “Give Me Future,” the documentary chronicling his free show with Major Lazer in downtown Havana, Cuba last March.
The concert documentary is an official festival selection.
With fellow Lazers Walshy Fire and Jillionaire, the dancehall trio went in to Cuba raw. They had no metrics to prove their drawing power in the culturally suspended nation to our south, unsure if anyone even knew who they were.
Wes, as his friends call him, invited CBS and PBS newsman Charlie Rose to tag along. That was the first surprise attendee.
Expecting a few thousand fans, over 400,000 showed up (above). Call it “Cuba’s Woodstock.”
The group’s own concert video footage evolved in to a full-length documentary about youth culture in a cloistered country “on the precipice of change,” as the film’s official blurb states.
Back on their night job, Major Lazer will also play Park City Live this Friday on the first full day of the festival with “Deep Down Low” producer Valentino Khan supporting.
Apologies in advance to all those forking food at Chefdance downstairs underneath the venue. This performance will be shaking Main Street with a jagged dose of dancehall thump in one of the opening weekend’s hot non-film party tickets.
Music video maven Austin Peters (“Haim,” “CHVRCHES”) directs “Give Me Future.”
After press and industry screenings, the film has its world premiere on Friday, January 27 at The MARC. An after party at the Creators League Studio will follow. (That’s Pepsi’s global content production arm for lifestyle, entertainment, and sports related programming, divorced from the business of selling fizzy drinks. They partnered with the film’s producers.)
Just like Major Lazer’s 2013 hit, watch out for this.
TheWrap’s Party Report at Sundance is presented by the vehicle that will be shuttling filmmakers and casts to special events, the Kia Niro Hybrid Crossover. Among those special events are The Party Report’s party pal and HQ, the Kia Supper Suite at the brand-new Firewood on Main. Keep up with real time images of the scene in Park City on @SundanceParties on Instagram.