Mighty Uke Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher, Canada, 2009, 79 minutes
Sunday, May 9 | 12:00pm | Pacific Cinémathèque
Think of a ukulele and you probably imagine grass skirts and kitschy lyrics, but far from being just a Hawaiian novelty instrument, the uke has a rich history and has profoundly affected music around the world. Mighty Uke travels the world to discover an irreverent group of musicians who share one thing: a deep passion for an instrumental underdog.
Originally brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, the tiny instrument first captured the imaginations of the Hawaiian royal court in the 1880’s. With the dawn of the radio broadcasting age, ukulele music owned the airwaves. Broadway produced ukulele musicals. Hollywood produced ukulele movie stars. The little instrument was so inexpensive and easy to play that by the early twenties the uke was the most popular instrument in the American home and the first musical voice for millions of children. Over the next thirty years the uke was number one, and then, with the rise of rock and roll guitar, faded into nerdy obscurity, until now.
In the internet age, the ukulele is making a comeback. Clubs and ensembles are sprouting up around the world, and a new generation is pulling their grandparents’ ukes out of the closet, challenging our images of the humble ukulele. Ukes top the charts in Japan, Swedish punks thrash uke angst, California popsters serve it to ya ukulele style, and classical composers carefully pluck out music box sonatas. Even our own local kids in Langley are participating in what can only be labeled ‘a ukolution’.
Mighty Uke explores why so many nations, cultures, ages and musical tastes are turning to the ukulele to express themselves, connect with the past, and with each other.
Filmmaker in attendance
Classified for younger audiences. No membership required.
Directors’ biographies
Tony Coleman has been working as a writer, producer, director, editor and cameraman for twenty years, the last ten at the CBC. Five feature films, dozens of documentaries and two current affairs series later, he has been nominated for five Gemini awards for picture editing as well as visual effects design. Most recently, Coleman wrote, directed and edited the pop-culture documentary, Blue Jean Confidential for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Margaret Meagher is a freelance writer and illustrator who has written and designed graphics for both print and television. She has been teaching literature and creative writing for fifteen years and has edited and co-written several successful television documentary scripts.
