This movie has taught me the true power of documentary, and that only long, in-depth investigations lead to magical and unique works. Mitra Farahani is a queen. A masterpiece.

This is the movie that made me want to travel to Mexico in the first place, and the film that introduced me to ‘magical realism.’ Every shot is like a painting. The never-ending imagination of Jodorowsky in one movie: A love story between a silent girl and a young boy in a circus, the funeral ceremony for an elephant, a church with a unique religion praying for a young girl whose arms were cut off by a violent man, guitars and songs against military violence, an entire psychiatric hospital heading to your favorite salsa cabaret… All of it accompanied by the best mambo soundtrack by Pérez Prado, the king of Mambo.

I come from France, where I worked with bands from Mali and various parts of Africa. This documentary discusses how extremist Islamists were burning the drums and guitars of many bands in Mali. Most of these musicians had to escape and travel to France to continue playing music and fighting for their freedom. As they say in the movie, “Their instruments are their Kalashnikovs.” Working with all these bands inspired and nourished my vision of the world.

Maya Deren speaks to the collective unconscious through dreams and visions. She definitely awakened something inside my teenage imagination when I was in high school. I still dream about this short film.

My favorite Tarantino movie, which introduced me to Curtis Mayfield and Blaxploitation cinema. This film was inspired by ‘Foxy Brown’.

The first Blaxploitation movie I ever saw. I love a good revenge-driven female film. Discovering Blaxploitation and understanding that this genre from the ’70s was about Black people overcoming white authority figures in Hollywood blew my mind when I was young. It felt both necessary and revolutionary. Discovering ‘Blackula’ and ‘Blackenstein‘ (the Black versions of ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’) also blew my mind. But ‘Foxy Brown’ will always have a special place in my heart.

Another revenge-driven female film from Iran. A vampire, revenge, badass movie. With an amazing soundtrack.

One of my favorite single-shot music videos.