Q&A with Composer

TAMAR-KALI

Singer/Songwriter

NATHANIEL RATELIFF

Moderated by BRENNA EHRLICH (Rolling Stone)

Screening Link available upon Registration

YouTube Live Stream Q&A :

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 – 2:30pm PT

Former high school football star Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) went from hometown hero to convicted felon, earning himself 12 years in a state penitentiary. He returns home to Louisiana, where he moves back in with Vivian (June Squibb), the grandmother who raised him. While trying to keep his head down and rebuild a quiet life for himself, Palmer is haunted by memories of his glory days and the suspicious eyes of his small-town community. Things become more complicated when Vivian’s hard-living neighbor Shelly (Juno Temple) disappears on a prolonged bender, leaving her precocious and unique 7-year-old son Sam (Ryder Allen), often the target of bullying, in Palmer’s reluctant care. In time, Palmer is drawn into a more hopeful world as he forges a connection with Sam through their shared experience of being made to feel different by those around them. Life improves for Palmer, and a romance develops between him and Sam’s teacher Maggie (Alisha Wainwright). An inspiring and unexpected journey unfolds for the three of them, but soon Palmer’s past threatens to tear apart this new life. R | 210min

Brooklyn born and bred artist Tamar-kali is a second-generation musician with roots in the coastal Sea Islands of South Carolina. As a composer, Tamar-kali has defied boundaries to craft her own unique alternative sound. 2017 marked her debut as a film score composer. Her score for Dee Rees’ Oscar-nominated Mudbound garnered her the World Soundtrack Academy’s 2018 Discovery of the Year Award, and was listed on Indiewire’s 25 Best Film Scores of the 21st Century. 2019 was a hallmark year for her work as a composer. In addition to debuting her first symphonic commission, she scored four films, three of which were featured at Sundance 2020. They include Dee Ree’s The Last Thing He Wanted, Kitty Green’s The Assitant, and Josephine Decker’s psychological drama Shirley; the latter of whose soundtrack was named The Guardian’s Contemporary Album of the Month in June 2020. The 4th film was the documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble.

Tamar-kali’s 2021 promises to be replete with projects from opera commissions and a new solo EP to the feature score for Palmer, directed by Fisher Stevens.

Growing up in rural Missouri, Nathaniel Rateliff got his early music education from his family, who performed in the church band in which Nathaniel played drums. In 7th grade, Rateliff’s father was killed in a car crash, which forced him to drop out of school to help provide for his family. One of Rateliff’s full-time jobs was working as a janitor at what would have been his high school. At 19, Rateliff moved to Denver where he worked night shifts at a bottle factory and a trucking company while testing out songs at open-mic nights. Rateliff’s 2010 solo album, In Memory of Loss, propelled him to the forefront of Denver’s tight-knit folk scene, with The New York Times dubbing him “a local folk-pop hero” and launched his career as a touring musician. A set of rough demos recorded in 2013 pointed Rateliff in a new direction, and somewhere between Sam & Dave and The Band, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats was born. The band’s self-titled debut album was a breakout success – now certified Gold in the USA, it has sold over a million records worldwide. Their sophomore album Tearing at the Seams debuted in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim. Last year, Rateliff released his first solo album in seven years via Stax Records. And It’s Still Alright peaked at #3 on iTunes’ “Top Albums” chart, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Americana/Folk” chart, landed at #2 on their “Current Rock” chart, and resided at #1 on the Americana Albums Chart for eight consecutive weeks.

In 2018, Rateliff launched The Marigold Project to support community and nonprofit organizations working on issues of economic and social justice.

*** IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ ***

FREE for current SCL members (click HERE to check membership status).

Attendees will be emailed a Screening Link upon Registration and a Q&A YouTube Live Stream link on Wednesday, February 3, 10 minutes before Q&A start.

Attendees can ask questions on YouTube chat, and the SCL Host will pass them on to the Moderator. The SCL Member Code of Conduct applies to online Q&As.

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