Still, Corporate Cannibal video (2008) Directed by Nick Hooker.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Beginning in 2005, Grace Jones’ documentary Bloodlight and Bami follows the singer through her personal life, her return to family in Jamaica, and her international performances. The documentary is as reflective of the singer’s life and career in form as it is in content. In choosing Sophie Fienne to direct the film, Jones’ decision reflects a certain sensibility. Sophie had a “tendency to let the camera run on” and eschewed narration, titles, and archive footage in the final product. The refusal of precedent and the raw excess that characterizes Jones’ career bleeds into form in the documentary Bloodlight and Bami. The film minds not spectators who would prefer Jones stick to forms that constrain her image and surroundings to prioritize their own comfort and legibility.
“Jones creates and recreates herself and contexts. [Bloodlight and Bami] is itself a queer ‘world-making project,’ what Lauren Berlant and Michael Warner conceptualize as that “space of entrances, exits, unsystematized lines of acquaintance, projected horizons, typifying examples, alternate routes, blockages, incommensurate geographies.’”[1]
Since the end of filming, Jones has since released a new album Hurricane after a nineteen-year gap, headlined in Afropunk, and released her own autobiography titled I’ll Never Write My Memoirs.
[1]Anderson, Melissa. 2018. Keeping up with the Jones. Artforum International, vol. 56, no. 8, pp. 37-38. New York.
SELECTED WORKS
Actress
Gutterdammerung (2016), dir. Bjorn Tagemose
Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (2001), dir. Joshua Sinclair
Wolf Girl (2001), dir. Thom Fitzgerald
Boomerang (1992), dir. Reginald Hudlin
Siesta (1987), dir. Mary Lambert
Straight to Hell (1987), dir. Alex Cox
Vamp (1986), dir. Richard Wenk
A View to A Kill (1985), dir. John Glen
Conan the Destroyer (1984), dir. Richard Fleischer
Studio Albums
Hurricane (2008)
Bulletproof Heart (1989)
Inside Story (1986)
Slave to the Rhythm (1985)
Living My Life (1982)
Nightclubbing (1981)
Warm Leatherette (1980)
Muse (1979)
Fame (1978)
Portfolio (1977)
Soundtrack
White Noise (2022), dir. Noah Baumbach
The French Dispatch (2021), dir. Wes Anderson
Yardie (2018), dir. Idris Elba
Pose (2018-2021), creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, & Steven Canals
Mindhunter (2017-2019), creator Joe Penhall
Gutterdammerung (2016), dir. Bjorn Tagemose
Pride (2014), dir. Matthew Warchus
Take Me Home Tonight (2011), dir. Michael Dowse
Misfits (2009-2013), creator Howard Overman
Pineapple Express (2008), dir. David Gordon Green
Rush Hour 3 (2007), dir. Brett Ratner
Go Go Tales (2007), dir. Abel Ferrara
The Eight (2006), directors Reda Abd Elrazek and Ahmed Medhat
Lord of War (2005), dir. Andrew Niccol
Entourage (2004-2011), creator Doug Ellin
Kingpin (2003), directors Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly
The Wire (2002-2008), creator David Simon
Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (2001), dir. Joshua Sinclair
Save the Last Dance (2001), dir. Thomas Carter
Wolf Girl (2001), dir. Thom Fitzgerald
200 Cigarettes (1999), dir. Risa Bramon Garcia
She’s So Lovely (1997), dir. Nick Cassavetes
Beavis and Butthead (1993-2011), creator Mike Judge
Boomerang (1992), dir. Reginald Hudlin
Toys (1992), dir. Barry Levinson
La Petite Amie d’Antonio (1992), dir. Manuel Poirier
Worth Winning (1989), dir. Will Mackenzie
Miami Vice (1984-1989), creator Anthony Yerkovich
Siesta (1987), dir. Mary Lambert
Straight to Hell (1987), dir. Alex Cox
Vamp (1986), dir. Richard Wenk
A View to A Kill (1985), dir. John Glen
Conan the Destroyer (1984), dir. Richard Fleischer
Love Child (1982), dir. Larry Peerce
The Midnight Special (1972-1981), creator Burt Sugarman
SELECTED REVIEWS
Walsh, Kate. “’Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami’ Delivers Textured Profile of Music/Fashion Icon.” Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2018. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-capsule-grace-jones-bloodlight-bami-review-20180417-story.html.
Morris, Wesley. “A Performer Who’s Not Just Body and Snarl.” New York Times, WRAL News, April 12, 2018. https://www.wral.com/-grace-jones-bloodlight-and-bami-a-performer-who-s-not-just-body-and-snarl/17483135/.
Tobias, Scott. “A Diva Deconstructed In ‘Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami.’” NPR, April 12, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2018/04/12/601106353/a-diva-deconstructed-in-grace-jones-bloodlight-and-bami.
Wolfe, April. “Grace Jones has One Message: Always Take the Risk.” The Village Voice, April 19, 2018. https://www.villagevoice.com/grace-jones-has-one-message-always-take-the-risk/.
Terry, Josh. “Movie review: ‘Bloodlight and Bami’ is an Enigmatic Movie About an Enigmatic Singer.” Deseret News, May 4, 2018. https://www.deseret.com/2018/5/4/20644429/movie-review-bloodlight-and-bami-is-an-enigmatic-movie-about-an-enigmatic-singer/#:~:text=EntertainmentMoviesMusic-,Movie%20review%3A%20'Bloodlight%20and%20Bami'%20is%20an%20enigmatic,movie%20about%20an%20enigmatic%20singer&text=If%20you're%20already%20familiar,t%20learn%20about%20Grace%20Jones.
Anderson, Melissa. “Keeping Up with the Jones.” Artforum 56, no. 8 (2018): 37-38. https://www.artforum.com/columns/melissa-anderson-on-sophie-fienness-grace-jones-bloodlight-and-bami-238344/.
Stables, Kate. “Grace Jones Bloodlight and Bami.” Sight and Sound 27, no. 11, (2017): 68–69.
Lobato, Ramon. “Amazing Grace: Decadence, Deviance, Disco (Grace Jones).” Camera Obscura 65 (2007): 134–39.
SELECTED INTERVIEWS
Jones, Daisy. “Grace Jones: Wilder Than Ever.” Dazed, September 17, 2015. https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/26359/1/grace-jones-wilder-than-ever.
Day by Day. “Grace Jones – Interview 1985.” YouTube, March 25, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuW4TcZWeLI.
The Russel Harty Show. “Grace Jones — The Russell Harty Show interview + Love is the Drug.” YouTube, October 24, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLLtS50UCBQ.