The beautiful new 4K restoration of NYWIFT Member Kavery Kaul’s award-winning 1988 documentary One Hand Don’t Clap chronicling the titans of calypso and soca music will enjoy its one week run opening March 8th, 2024, at BAM.
March 8th, 7:00PM screening with introduction by Consul General of Trinidad & Tobago, J. Andre Laveau and post Q&A with filmmaker Kavery Kaul.
March 9th 7:00PM screening includes post Q&A with filmmaker Kavery Kaul.
NYWIFT members use discount code 1HAND
Get swept away by the infectious rhythms and exhilarating irreverence of calypso and soca music in this wonderful documentary from filmmaker Kavery Kaul. Legendary artists Grandmaster Lord Kitchener — who made calypso a hit in London — and Calypso Rose—the first woman to break through in this traditionally male sphere — lead audiences from New York recording studios, and the streets of Brooklyn, to the magic of Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. There, the festivities culminate with the fiercely contested annual competition between top calypso singers for the title Monarch of the Year.
Digitally restored by the Academy Film Archive and the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television and distributed by Kino Lorber, One Hand Don’t Clap reflects the legacy of a vast West Indian-American population, the incredible entrepreneurial growth of their music industry in the US, and their ongoing ties to the traditions that flourish in the Caribbean.
“seductively rhythmic and poetic…Not just about music and musicians, but an examination of cultures. A credit to the film and its creators.”
~ New York Newsday
Historically acting as an avenue for political expression, lyrics frequently illuminate topical themes that continue to resonate.
“Solomon, why the hell you harassing me? You can see that both of us can’t agree. Every day is a fighting’ inside the place. You treat me bad, you black and blue up my face.”
~ Calypso Rose, Solomon (Steppin’ Out album, 1986)
Additional performer appearances include David Rudder (b. 1953), Black Stalin (1941-2022), Growling Tiger (1916-1993), Lord Pretender (1917-2002), The Mighty Duke (1932-2009) and Natasha Wilson (b.1975). With the deaths of Kitchener, and the even older Growling Tiger and Lord Pretender, the many generations in Kaul’s film trace the evolution of a musical style.
“A film classic… A beautiful documentary.”
~ The Guardian, 2023
One Hand Don’t Clap originally premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and enjoyed theatrical runs in the US and Japan. Critics called One Hand Don’t Clap “an enticing introduction to an appealing and unique form of music” (New York Post). Down Beat predicted, “Along with Don’t Look Back, the best of all is One Hand Don’t Clap. This’ll look — and sound — just as good 25 years from now.”
The Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television is the only program in the world dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of women in the industry through preserving films made by women. Founded in 1995 by NYWIFT in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), WFPF has preserved around 150 American films, across all genres, in which women have played key creative roles. The WFPF is rewriting the film history books, by saving one moving picture at a time. www.womensfilmpreservationfund.org
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NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
