A new documentary about Bad Brains’s explosive frontman Paul ‘HR’ Hudson (AKA Human Rights, AKA Joseph I), will have its world premiere in just over two weeks in London, at the Doc’N’Roll Film Festival. The film has been in production for several years, after director James Latho first met HR when he interviewed him for a skateboard magazine in 2007. The film was successfully funded by fans through a Kickstarter campaign.
“You have to experience HR, you don’t talk about HR, you experience it,” Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) says of the pioneering punk performer in the film’s trailer, with The Roots’ Questlove adding, “That’s an ‘it’ that not many people have, that rock star ‘it’, and he just had it.” The film features interviews with HR himself, as well as interviews with collaborators and artists he influenced, such as Chino Moreno of Deftones, Ian MacKaye of Fugazi and Minor Threat, Corey Glover of Living Color, and Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D.
The film is set to cover HR’s electrifying stage persona, eccentric lifestyle and his deep dedication to the Rastafari faith, as well as the struggles he has faced with homeless and poverty.
A 2015 update the the Kickstarter page revealed that the filmmakers had access to over 20 hours of HR’s personal video recordings, including stage footage and video diaries: “Does anyone remember when HR would bring a camera on stage during the Soul Brains era? These are those tapes.” They also recorded footage at the California Roots Festival in Monterey when HR performed with Long Beach Dub All Stars.
Finding Joseph I is accompanied by a written biography, or oral history, of the same name, which is scheduled for release in January 2017. It was recently announced that Bad Brains is among the 2017 nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Finding Joseph I premieres at the ICA on November 10 as part of Doc’N’Roll Festival in London, followed by a Q&A with director James Latho. Tickets are on sale now.
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Text Charlotte Gush