‘Buena Vista Social Club’ Documentary Sequel Begins Filming This Summer
Buena Vista Social Club, the Oscar-nominated 1999 documentary exploring American guitarist Ry Cooder‘s efforts to re-assemble a group of renowned Cuban musicians, is getting a sequel. Buena Vista Social Club – Adios, directed by Lucy Walker (Waste Land), will begin filming in July, focusing on the band‘s five original members on tour. The film will explore their personal and professional lives over the past 16 years, building to a run of homecoming concerts in Havana, Variety reports.
The original, Wim Wenders-directed Buena Vista Social Club was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2000 Oscars and grossed over $23 million worldwide. The film, named after a Havana club that closed down in the 1940s, found Cooder collaborating with Cuban bandleader Juan de Marcos Gonzalez. In 1996, they recruited a crew of acclaimed musicians and recorded an album, the following year’s Buena Vista Social Club, which helped reignite a widespread interest in Latin American music. The band played concerts in Amsterdam and at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
In March, Buena Vista Social Club released Lost and Found, a collection of previously unreleased tracks. Some of the material dates back to the initial sessions for the 1997 LP, with additional studio and live tracks recorded following the original project’s success.
“Over the years, we were often asked what unreleased material was left in the vaults,” World Circuit’s Nick Gold said in a statement announcing the album. “We knew of some gems, favorites amongst the musicians, but we were always too busy working on the next project to go back and see what else we had. When we eventually found the time, we were astonished at how much wonderful music there was.”