"The musician Milford Graves is a rare example of a truly holistic artist. This stunning documentary, directed by Jake Meginsky with the assistance of Neil Young (a musician, but no relation to the rock star) does not offer anything like a conventional biography or career trajectory of the percussionist, who was and continues to be a unique force in jazz."
Read the full review here >>
Listen to MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS director Jake Meginsky and Milford Graves on Episode 496 of Filmwax Radio. Hear their segment here >>
"The new documentary directed by Jake Meginsky and co-directed by Neil Young explores the life of Milford Graves well beyond his contributions to the avant-garde. While pioneering the role of the drummer in free jazz, the Queens native managed to become an acupuncturist, a sculptor, a martial artist, and an expert of the human heart, writing software that turns its pulse into melody. The film, with Graves serving as its only voice, is a lesson in autodidactism."
"In one scene, Mr. Graves, now 76, stands in his backyard garden in Jamaica, Queens, speaking to the film’s director, Jake Meginsky. A vegetable provides more nutrients if you eat it directly, he says. Then he bends over and gobbles up a spinach leaf, chewing it down to the stem. This moment shows where his creativity flourishes — at the square root of super-seriousness and total innocence." Read more here >>
Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today: "By popular demand, a second screening of MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS has been added on May 6" after the Friday, April 27 screening sold out several days in advance. Both screenings will feature a Q&A with Milford Graves, director Jake Meginsky and co-director Neil Young in person. Tickets are now available here: https://www.filmlinc.org/films/milford-graves-full-mantis/
"There would be no point in trying to make a straightforward portrait on drummer Milford Graves – this free-jazz musician who's played with Bill Frisell, Albert Ayler, Sonny Sharrock and John Zorn, among others, is one of those guys who literally marches to his own beat. Thankfully, documentarians Jake Meginsky and Neil Young (no, not that one) figured this out early, and simply made a movie about Graves' life and work that's similar to his percussive style: unpredictable, out-of-sync yet somehow rhythmically right on, jagged and likely to zig when you think it's going to zag." - ROLLING STONE
Read the rest here >>
It is a true honor to have the film presented as part of the Pan African Cinema Today (PACT) section of the festival, alongside films by Ousmane William Mbaye, Rian Brown, Shirikiana Aina, Ary Rosa, Glenda Nicácio, Euzhan Palcy and Daryne Joshua. Additionally, IFFR is bringing Milford Graves to the world premiere event, and he will perform live on stage after the screening!
