Mahaleo

In Malagasy Mahaleo means free and independent. The revolutionary songs of the group Mahaleo were the catalyst of the uprising that led to the fall of the neo-colonial regime and military dictatorship in Madagascar. For more than thirty years, these songs have accompanied the Malagasy people and shaped their consciousness. Despite their immense success at home as well as throughout Europe, the seven musicians of the group have always refused the trappings of show-business. They have instead chosen to engage in the development of their country. Among these forerunners of the Malagasy blues are a surgeon, a physician, a farmer, and a sociologist. Led by the power and emotional intensity of the songs, this roving film is a documentary portrait as well as an ode to Madagascar, its landscapes and its people. There is no voice-over or commentary by the directors. The songs’ poetry, their rhythm and subversive words tell the story of the country, reflecting the Malagasy tradition of the heritage of the ears, the oral transmission from generation to generation. (DOK.fest München)