SXSW Film #4
Definitely the lesser of the two documentaries I saw today. It’s clear that H.E.R. has an immense reverence for Curtis Mayfield, and feeling her passion for the subject is lovely, but this documentary felt like a talkback lecture she was hosting with different guest lecturers, and that made it feel surprisingly dry, and it would seem she hasn’t had a lot of prior experience as an interviewer.
It’s like a bunch of people really excitedly telling me about why a Wikipedia article means so much to them. I believe that they wholeheartedly love that Wikipedia article, but that’s not enough for me to latch onto.
I walked out feeling like I learned more about H.E.R. than I did about Curtis Mayfield, which is not what I’m hoping for from a film called The Makings of Curtis Mayfield.

SXSW Film #4
Definitely the lesser of the two documentaries I saw today. It’s clear that H.E.R. has an immense reverence for Curtis Mayfield, and feeling her passion for the subject is lovely, but this documentary felt like a talkback lecture she was hosting with different guest lecturers, and that made it feel surprisingly dry, and it would seem she hasn’t had a lot of prior experience as an interviewer.
It’s like a bunch of people really excitedly telling me about why a Wikipedia article means so much to them. I believe that they wholeheartedly love that Wikipedia article, but that’s not enough for me to latch onto.
I walked out feeling like I learned more about H.E.R. than I did about Curtis Mayfield, which is not what I’m hoping for from a film called The Makings of Curtis Mayfield.