acoustic sound orchestra | larry adler | adrivalan orchester | agrupacion coral „manuel iradier“ de vitoria |

„We just found it in Zanzibar and we play it. “Makame, singer from Zanzibar

„I played La Paloma and watched as kids filed into the gas chambers.“Coco, guitar player in Auschwitz

„The song has a secret that one should respect and love.“ Eugenia, singer from Mexico

A documentary film by Sigrid Faltin86 min. / HDTV English, German, Spanish version52 min. / HDTV English version

La Paloma.The Melody of Longing. Worldwide.

How a little Habanera became the Grande Dame of pop music.

Made La Paloma a hit in Germany:Hans Albers

Synopsis

It is the most played song in the world. In Zanzibar they play it at the end of weddings, in Romania at the end of funerals, in Mexico it is the hymn of demonstrators against the newly elected president, in Germany it is known as a sailor’s song from the North Sea. The film is ajourney on the wings of La Paloma. What is the song’s secret? Why does it touch people ofevery color and creed?

cornelis albers | hans albers | laurindo almeida | amon düül II | peter anders | nicolas de angelis | angklung indonesia bamboo orchestra | henry arland | arno | arriaga instrumental trio | juan arvizu | tony astarita | ferenc

Whom you will get to know (among others)

Kalle Laar, a German avant-garde musician,knows about 2000 different recorded versions of the song. Kalle alone has published four CDs of La Paloma versions. He knows - almost - everything about this song. We meet with him in his home archives.... recording a new

version in Spain

Kalle Laar ...

aszodi | baba brooks | mandy bach | ron baker | jorge balmaceda | banana fishbones | frank baum | franz baumann | peter beil | rémon biermann | acker bilk | roy black | die blauen jungs | carla bley | blue holiday band |

La Paloma was born in Cuba 150 years ago, composed bythe Basque musician Sebastián Iradier. That’s why ourjourney begins in La Habana.

Helio Orovio is a musician and musicologist whostudied the music of his homeland. For him, Cubaand La Paloma are inseparably linked. “La Paloma”, he says, “arouses the Cuban in me,because I heard it as a child. It's part of my worldof sounds.” Helio tells how the little habaneracame into existence.

Helio, percussionist at Los Jóvenes del Cayo

bob wills & his texas playboys | bock rock | bremer akkordeonorchester „happy harmonists“ | bzn | ingrid caven |

norman cancler | tony capaldi | captain cook & seine singenden saxophone |cliff carpenter | carmen

castillo | aguilar chacha | chubby checker | comedian harmonists/meistersextett | ray conniff | elvis costello |

From Cuba the little habanera came to Mexico.

Susi Igler knows the story of La Paloma in Mexico: In 1866 the song became an immediate hit there. Paloma brought tears to the eyes of the unfortunate Mexican Emperor Maximilian vonHabsburg, while liberals mocked the imperialcouple in a satirical version. Legend has it thatMaximilian requested La Paloma to be played before he was executed.

As a last wish Maximilian requested they play La Paloma.

Susi Igler, expert on Maximilian and Carlota

bing crosby | horea crishan | xavier cugat & his orchestra | culture musical club zanzibar | karl dall |ron david | andré dassary | de windjammers | deutsches tanz- und unterhaltungsorchester | edison concert band | epigmenio

From Mexico we travel with La Paloma to Hawaii.

Harry Koizumi explains how La Paloma came to Hawaii: King Kamehameha III hired Mexicanvaqueros (cowboys) to teach Hawaiians how to handle the growing herds of steers. In theevenings around the campfire, they played LaPaloma on their guitars. When they returnedto their homeland a few years later, some gavetheir guitars to the Hawaiians, who inventedtheir own style of guitar music…

Teaches slack key and steel-guitar – Harry Koizumi

Even he performed La Paloma: Elvis

díaz | die dreisihoclas | dieter reith’s move | plácido domingo | gabriel dorobantiú | ral donner | hands dreischmeier | eesti raadio naisansambel |eisenbahnermusik wiener neustadt | esquivel & his orchestra | liuba

maria evia | fabulosos tres paraguayos | johannes fehring | alejandro fernandez | branco feliciano & his happy gui-

And now for a stopover in the Spanish Basque Country, the home of Sebastián Iradier, the composer of La Paloma.

Primitivo Langarica transferred his lamp shop inthe center of Vitoria to his son a couple of monthsago. Now he is able to donate his free time to hishobby, collecting La Paloma records. He alreadyhas 983 versions – from Julio Iglesias to Elvis Presley. ‘I had never heard it in Basque,though. “It's strange,” he says. “ Sebastián Iradier is quiteforgotton.”

The composer of La Paloma:the Basque Sebastián Iradier

Collector with a mission: Primitivo Langarica

tars | felix felzmann | freddy fender | frank ferera | gabriella ferri | finkwarder speedldeel | fischer chöre | perikles fotopoulos | connie francis | | carlos francisco | frank valdors tropic beats | amelita gallicurci | paco garcia | la garde

Defeated, Maximilian´s soldiers returned to Austria-Hungary, the song of the white dove in their knapsacks.Thus the song came to Banat, Austria-Hungary then, Romania today.

Katharina Hellstern is one of the few Germanswho did not emigrate after the fall of Ceaucescu.She knows what it is like to long for loved-ones,who sought a happier life far away. “La Paloma incorporates longing. Everybody knows longing,”she says. “Without longing life makes no sense.”That’s why even today the song is played at funerals in Banat.

républicaine | benny gebauer | barnabás von géczy mit seinem tanzorchester | ladi geisler | benjamino gigli | pedro gonez | emilio de gogorza | herbert ernst groh | bob hall | hamburger shanty chor | harmonica playboys |

Longing for the loved-one who emigrated – Katharina Hellstern

Then La Paloma goes to hell.

Coco Schumann, the German master of swing,was forced to perform the song in Auschwitz, next to the ramp to the gas chambers. “I've played La Paloma all my life. It's a great piece,really great, and I love it, but it doesn't get undermy skin. Thank God. Otherwise I couldn't play itnow.”

He had to perform it in Auschwitz – Coco Schumann

james harry & his orchestra | alfred hause | hawaiian duo | heino | ted herold | heyn-quartett elvira de hidalgo | jonny hill | lydia hill | ich schwitze nie | julio iglesias | ikarus showorchester | hein jansen | jiao jim-hai | santiago

When and how La Paloma reached the coast of Africa re-

mains unknown. However, in Zanzibar there are people

who would swear the song has been here forever.

Makame Faki is a famous singer at the CultureMusical Club in Zanzibar. He owns a small recordshop in Stone Town, Zanzibar. On weekends heperforms Iradier’s melody at the end of weddingsas a farewell song. It is supposed to bring happiness to the bridal couple and their guests.

La Paloma as a wedding song in Zanzibar– Makame Faki and his Kidumbak band

jimé nez | johnny jokers | addi kahl | raymond kane | käpt’n blaubär | hiaskirchgasser | angel kirkpatrick | kirmes-musikanten | rudolf klaus | rudi knabl | piet knarren | rené kollo | oldrich kovár | hans-joachim kulenkampff |

In Germany La Paloma is considered a song from thenorth coast.

Hans Albers’ alcohol driven version was oncebanned by the Nazis, while Freddy later madethe charts with the song. The Hamburg basedentertainer Peter Fläschner comes to the point:“La Paloma is the song of life. What happens inlife is reflected in La Paloma.”

With La Paloma in the charts in 1962 – Freddy Quinn

charles kullmann | evelyn künneke | jean-pierre kusela | james last orchester | pedro lavagna y su orchestra de tango argentinos | lecuona cuban boys | eugenia león | frederico linae | trini lopez | helmut lotti | paco de lucia |

One of the highlights of the film is the performance of theMexican star singer Eugenia León.

During the last presidential election EugeniaLeón supported the liberal candidate, who wasclosely defeated. His supporters are convinced itwas fraud. To them Eugenia dedicated her Palomaversion, which is written in the tradition of the satirical versions against Maximilian. Eugenia’spowerful Paloma is a hymn against war, againstintervention by foreign nations – the longing ofevery human being.

against globalization – Eugenia León

dean martin | mireille mathieu | felix mendelssohn’s hawaiian serenaders | conchita mendez | metropolitan dance orchestra | jelly roll morton | erich neumann | charly neumann | mark newstead | no goods | novelty orche-

La Paloma, a hymn for a globalized world as we would want it– Eugenia León

The director’s notes of intention:

When I started the film, I had to answer questionslike, “How often do you have to listen to the song?Won’t it be boring?” The viewers’ reactions nowprove that the opposite is the case: you will getaddicted to the song, you will want to hear morethan the 42 versions which we play in the film.Even after months in the editing room, there aremoments when I discover something new in themelody again. For heaven’s sake, nobody can tellyou the secret of the song – otherwise thousandswould have already copied it.

ster | peter oldenburg | orchester alfonso martinez | orchester harry martin | orchestra lázaro quintero | oreche- stre parlophon | orchids | original holsteiner | orquestra valdés | natalino otto | pablito & his pachanga | pacifique

The director with one of her favourite versions

It thrills me to see how the song has been connected with – mostly tragic – moments in history during the past 150 years, when death andlonging, freedom and peace were key issues. Forme the song is an example of how globalizationshould be: a melody which unites people of everycolor and creed, a song played globally, but performed locally. I want the audience to leavethe film with a smile on their faces whistling LaPaloma, amazed at the song’s variety, wonderingwhich musician impressed them most.

tango orkestret | tullio pane | papenburger shanty-chor | charlie parker | paul whiteman orchestra | eddie pea- body | roland peachey | pedrito altieri & his steel band | bernd petrak | tommi piper | polizeichor blaue jungs

The director

Sigrid Faltin has been working as a writer andfilm director for twenty years, and for ten years as a producer. Her last film “the guggenheim and the baroness” on Hilla Rebay, the founding director of the Guggenheim Museum, was internationally co-produced, shown at several international film festivals and awarded a BronzeWorld Medal at the New York Festival in 2005. Shealso wrote a well received book on Hilla Rebay. Together with Andreas Schäfler, Faltin also editedthe book on La Paloma.

Sigrid Faltin, director and producer

hamburg-harburg | polizeichor lübeck | andré popp | franck pourcel | pérez prado | elvis presley | hermann prey | freddy quinn | alberto rabagliatti and the lecuona cuban boys | bill ramsey | achim reichel | robert renard | joan

revel and mario de pietro | meza reynaldo y los paraguayos | hein ries | andré rieu | ringelpiez | marty

The La Paloma Project

Parallel to the film, Marebuch, Hamburg, will publish a book on La Paloma, written by SigridFaltin and Andreas Schäfler, with essays by KlausDoldinger, Stefan Maelck, Eugene Chadbourne,120 illustrations in color, and a selected discography of La Paloma versions in Classic, Jazz, Pop, Rock, etc. Approx. 180 pages, approx.19,90 EUR, ISBN 978-3-86648-082-7. (in German)

Additionally, two more CD’s will be published by Kalle Laar and Trikont, Munich, among others with the Paloma versions from the film.Trikont has already published four CD’s with the best Paloma versions. They will continue their strenuous work on a critical edition of all Palomas.

robbins | robertino | ivo robic | roland trio | ronny | ro okeys & the five danes | edmundo ros | eulalio sánchez y su quinteto mexicano | manny sax | heinz schimmelpfennig | joseph schmidt | rudolf schock | walter scholz | detlev

They believed in La Paloma

producers White Pepper Films (Sigrid Faltin) and Seppia (Cédric Bonin, Pascaline Geoffroy)co-producers NDR (Bernd Michael Fincke), WDR (Jutta Krug), ZDF in cooperation with Arte (SabineBubeck-Paaz), ETB (Santi Uriate)with the participation of YLE, ORF, TVR, DunaTV,Noga, Sogecable, Schweizer Fernsehen, Avrodeveloped through the EAVE Programme, a traininginitiative of the MEDIA Program of the E. U.funded by MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg,Media – a program of the E.U., Région Alsace, Communauté Urbaine de Strasbourgworld sales First Hand Films Zurichcinema distributor Germany Realfiction Cologne

F I R S T HAND FILMS

white pepperF I L M G E S E L L S C H A F T

schönauer | coco schumann | schuricke terzett | leopold seelos | seemanns-chor verein geborener hamburger | rosita serrano | ricky shane | shanty-chor großenbrode | erik silvester | antje smit | hank snow | perla del soconusco |

They worked on the film (among others)

writer & director Sigrid Faltindirector of photography Holger Schüppel BvKsound Enrico Leubeassistant to d.o.p. Michael Paninskieditor Mike Schlömeronline editing & color matching Christophe Reynaudsound editing & mixing Andreas Radzuweitmusic rights clearance Markus Steffenmusic advisor Andreas Zieglerproduction manager Agnès Divouxdesign DesignConceptsenglish translation Heidi Knott

soweto gospel choir | spotnicks | harry steiner | elsa stenning | the strangers | conchita supervia | miklos szedö | karl tabor | luciano tajoli | tango-orchester alexander imre | tango-orchester alfred hause | tango-orchester robert

When I left Havana, my God,nobody saw me but me. A beautiful woman, my love followed me, yes, sir!original version: Sebastian Iradier

Oh, dove of yesterday and today,battling racism and intervention.Fly, dove, to the border, and take away a star from their flag!We don't want imperialism.We're fed up with cynism. Our airspace is sovereign.We're people and Mexicans.performed by and words by: Eugenia León

No more do I see the starlight caress your hairNo more feel the tender kisses we used to shareI close my eyes and clearly my heart remembersA thousand good-byes could never put out the embers.version performed by Elvis Presley, words: Hal Blair / Don Robertson

Ladies and gentlemen,bride and bridegroom, we say goodbye to allwho were here. Forgive those who said anything nasty. Nobody should be offended or sad.version from Zanzibar

Variations on La Paloma

renard | tattoos | tau moe family | richard tauber | pete tex | jan thomé | claude thornhill |hein timm | tipica mexicana anahuac orquesta | dr. alfonso ortíz tirado | vico torriani | trio calaveras | trio san josé | etc.

© 2008 by

white pepper Filmgesellschaft Schlierbergstraße 25a D 79100 FreiburgPhone ++49 761 40 84 40 Fax ++49 761 40 89 40 faltin@whitepepper.de www.whitepepper.de

Seppia Sàrl18, rue Auguste Lamey F 67000 StrasbourgPhone ++33 388 52 81 21 Fax ++33 388 25 59 70c.bonin@seppia.fr www.seppia.fr

World SalesFirst Hand FilmsFritz Heb Weg 5 CH 8050 ZürichPhone ++41. 44. 312 20 60 Fax ++41. 44. 312 20 80esther.van.messel@firsthandfilms.com www.firsthandfilms.com