1 Giant Leap

1 GIANT LEAP play this video Director: Jamie Catto Director: Duncan Bridgeman

It is increasingly rare to come across a project that genuinely defies description, where no pigeonhole will do.

The members of 1 Giant Leap, while pushing the cutting-edge technology of the 21st century to its limit and utilizing their own fierce intelligence and consummate musicality plus a list of collaborators ranging from Michael Stipe to Kurt Vonnegut, Asha Bhosle to Dennis Hopper, have done just that.

Others taking part include Stewart Copeland, Brian Eno, Baaba Maal, Tom Robbins, Maxi Jazz from Faithless, Neneh Cherry, The Mahotella Queens, Speech from Arrested Development, Andy Summers, Eddi Reader and Linton Kwezi Johnson.

1 Giant Leap are Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman, who first met at a mutual friend's flat in Brighton and found that they shared a deep love for two universally influential albums: David Byrne and Brian Eno's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and Peter Gabriel's Passion, the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. They talked about music, technology, travel, the universe and their mutual dream of travelling the world, recording and filming as many of their heroes from the areas of music, art, science, literature and philosophy as they could find, seeking out the unity in the diversity. Luckily Palm Pictures boss Chris Blackwell shared their vision and offered them a contract.

Catto and Bridgeman did not draw their impressive list of collaborators from their personal address books; rather, they were forced to became "world champion cold callers." Dennis Hopper was so enthused by the project that he immediately got on the phone with Harvey Keitel and Meryl Streep to get them involved.

1 Giant Leap is a unique project for the 21st century which fuses words, sounds, rhythms and images from across the globe to celebrate the creative diversity of musicians, storytellers, authors, filmmakers, artists and thinkers from cultures around the world. The results illustrate breathtaking artistic and cultural diversity with a clear message of unity running throughout.

This project is the first of its kind, both in its immense terms of reference and its revolutionary use of cutting-edge technology. Having taken their backing tracks with them, the musicians were able to not only collaborate on 1 Giant Leap songs, but also to hear the sounds previous collaborators had been inspired to lay down. For instance, a sarangi player in india could play to the grooves laid down a week earlier by Ugandan drummers. Thus each track grew and developed as the duo circled the globe.

Catto and Bridgeman's adventures served as the basis for their 12-chapter film and accompanying album. Each film chapter corresponds to a track on the album, exploring themes such as "Masks and Roles," "Death and Change," "Freedom and Innocence," and "The Shadow and Inspiration." Containing footage from the streets of New York to the jungles of Ghana, the mountains of Nepal to the deserts of Rajsthan, 1 Giant Leap represents is a completely new genre of filmmaking somewhere between documentary and pop video, a music-based time capsule of the planet earth at the turn of the 21st century.

About the the members: Jamie Catto: musician, film director, editor, photographer and creative catalyst

As founder member and art director of the hugely successful dance-pop group Faithless, Catto has enjoyed no fewer than five top ten singles in the U.K., watching two albums go gold and enjoying enormous success around the world playing to crowds of up to 80, 000 fans. In the role of art director for Faithless' cheeky label, Catto has directed videos for all their artists -- each of them to huge critical acclaim -- including the group's stunning sign language film for "God Is a DJ." His photos and designs have also adorned the covers of Skinny's Failure and Faithless' Sunday 8pm.

Duncan Bridgeman: artist, producer, multi-instrumentalist

I came upon 1 Giant Leap after looking up what films that Ram Dass has appeared in. I love the way the passion for creativity shows up in the swirl of colors, images, music, poetry, and love of human diversity that this DVD projects. I rated it a 10 for that and its energy. Some have criticized it because of "slow" parts. I liked the balance of very energetic parts versus the time taken to contemplate the beauty and peace that surrounds us. I would have liked even more diversity to be included, Amer-Indian, Caribbean, Chinese, Arabic, Indonesian, Japanese, Finnish, North African, etc. That said, this is one DVD that can be watched time and again. I would rate this a must see. If you have an interest in spiritual side of existence, I would recommend seeing 'Fierce Grace' with Ram Dass.

In addition to being my absolute favorite CD last year, 1 Giant Leap is an extraordinary cinematic achievement. It is an ambitious project that travels the world collecting inspirational music, images and insights from musicians, poets, writers, philosophers, etc.

The contributors include some of my all-time favorite artists - Michael Franti, Baba Maal, Brian Eno, Speech, Michael Stipe, among others. If you are a fan of world music and the blending of ancient and contemporary sounds, this is a can't-miss.

This film is really unlike anything else I've ever seen before and it opens up a whole new genre of documentary/performance film. I am so impressed with the vision and execution of the two producer/director/composer/editors who made the film, they are truly talented individuals.

My only criticism would be that the film is not edited in a seamless way from beginning to end, so that at certain points in the film it abruptly goes to black until you select the next DVD chapter. That said, it shouldn't discourage anyone from exploring this intriguing DVD... and don't forget to check out the soundtrack.

1st watched 04/10/2007 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Jamie Catto & Duncan Bridgeman): Thought-provoking musical montage covering almost every important subject in life disguised as a full-length music video from artists around the world. This movie is packed with ideas but doesn't expect you to buy into any of them it just presents them. This is the modern way and this movie has a very modern all-world perspective on life that is refreshing. We get to hear from Christians, Jews, Atheists, Buddhists, and a host of other people from different regions and cultures all over the world between and during the songs. In a nice touch, we're treated with the names and the places where all the contributors are from at the very end. It's nice to match up the names with the faces and hear where they preside from and we get to see how diverse the movie's contributors are. This documentary won't make a lot of money, because documentaries usually don't but it definitely keeps your interest from the beginning to end. For any movie, to me, keeping your interest is the mark for a good movie and this movie hits that mark.

This international collaborative effort between musicians, artists, performers, writers and philosophers, titled, '1 Giant Leap', palls in sections, then blows you away with the power of music and words: "We want to show, through the diverse fragments of music, spoken word and imagery, that despite our surface level differences, the things that divide us are far outnumbered by the humanity which unites us."

Western collaborators include Tim Robbins, Neneh Cherry, Brian Eno, Dennis Hopper, Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Stipe and Robbie Williams.

As someone with considerable affection for Australia, I was cringing under the seat when it came to the section titled, 'Confrontation'. Nine minutes in which to comment on confrontation in the world, and most of the time was given up to a song intercut with a general montage, and commentary, but two long minutes were devoted to Fred Reid balancing a sickening speech by David Oldfield (of One Nation infamy, in case you've somehow managed to erase him from your mental list of villains). Mr Oldfield asked with all the assurance of the unquestionably loopy what stone age people can offer the 'rest of us' today.

I would have liked to hear from more women, but those that were there were fascinating. In the sex section, Cosi Fabian, a 'sacred prostitute', was beautiful. She had a sensitive take on the world, and appeared to feel able to be honest, and that people were honest, 'soft', with her.

This movie is a celebration that transcends the medium. The energy and sincerity of those involved more than compensates for any limitations. Nowadays one suspects one should somehow preface remarks regarding notions of hope and peace with some self effacing gesture, so as to mark one's recognition that such notions are somehow unsophisticated and breathlessly idealist. But this movie really does imbue one with hope, and it is a brave hope at that. A hope that can be expressed without need to cringe or caper. I hope you watch this movie too, and enjoy the diversity these collaborators have brought together.