The Godfather of Disco

Mar 4 2007 N/A 1h 24m
Documentary, Music

At the heart of this remarkable, music-filled documentary is the story of Mel Cheren, the ‘Godfather’ himself. The film traces the cultural conditions which led to the flowering of disco, the founding of West End Records and the Paradise Garage and, eventually, the onslaught of AIDS and its devastating effect on the musical and gay communities of New York City. Yet, like disco itself, it is primarily celebratory in nature. Randy Jones, Junior Vasquez and Louis Vega contribute, among many others. This evocative work will interest anyone who has danced to anything, ever.

Plot

Pioneer. Activist. Survivor. The Godfather of Disco is a documentary based on Mel Cheren's autobiography, My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep on Dancin'. Through a series of interviews with a whos who of the dance music community, Mel's extraordinary story is recounted. From his beginnings in Boston to his first job at a record label in New York City. From the origins of Disco to its peak in the late 70s to its inevitable crash and the onslaught of HIV/AIDS, Mel was there. He turned his pain into power by using the music he loved most as a weapon in the fight against AIDS. Today, Mel continues to fight AIDS, intolerance, and homophobia through the power of music. Mel has seen it all, done it all, lived to tell the tale and continues to do it all. Mel Cheren is The Godfather of Disco.

Written by

Gene Graham

Directed by

Gene Graham

Cast

Louis Benedetti, Jellybean Benítez, Joi Cardwell

Crew

View crew

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
49
Average Rating
8.1 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA