Faith Isiakpere directing new biopic about iconic singer and activist Miriam Makeba  

Miriam Makeba: The Voice of Africa

Shooting has begun on a documentary film directed by Faith Isiakpere celebrating the life and legacy of South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba.

Miriam Makeba: The Voice of Africa will tell the life story of Makeba, known for hits such as Pata Pata and for being an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.

The film is a coproduction between UK- and Italy-based Millstream Films & Media; Miriam Productions, a subsidiary of Raffaele Mincione’s investment group WRM Group; Lorenza Veronica’s In Bloom; and Isiakpere and Firdoze Bulbulia’s South Africa-based Moments Entertainment.

Shooting began in mid-August in northern Italy, where interviews with Roberto Meglioli, Makeba’s manager since 1987, and Solo Razafindrakoto, Makeba’s guitarist, took place.

Shooting will continue in South Africa with a concert in memory of Makeba, followed by filming in Guinea and New York City.

The documentary, supported by the Emilia-Romagna region through the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission in Italy, is expected to be completed by early 2025.

“Finally, the moment has come for an African director to tell her story and the story of her unrecognised but immense contribution to civil rights and the African independence movement,” said Isiakpere.

Among the first African musicians to receive worldwide recognition and nicknamed ‘Mama Africa,’ Makeba died aged 76 in November 2008 shortly after finishing a concert in the Southern Italian town of Castel Volturno.