Amnesty International celebrates its 60th anniversary today by releasing a new visual titled “Freedom Flight 60.” Narrated by Nazanin Boniadi (“Homeland”) and musician Angelique Kidjo, the film was shot entirely by drones and features landmarks and personalities from throughout Amnesty’s history and around the globe. “Freedom Flight” is soundtracked by a remastered version of “Biko” by Peter Gabriel (pictured above in 1986), himself an Amnesty International Ambassador.
“Biko” is a musical tribute to Steven Biko, a Black South-African anti-apartheid activist who was assassinated while in police custody in 1977.
The video aims to celebrate Amnesty’s continued “campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.” Locations filmed include Mexico City, Paris, Sydney Opera House, Jama Masjid Mosque, New Delhi and Cape Town. “Freedom Flight” runs two minutes and was produced by Art for Amnesty and Celestial, a cutting-edge drone art company.
Said Gabriel: “Now more than ever, we need as many people as possible to start taking injustice personally and to get involved in any way they can. Amnesty has been doing extraordinary work around the world which I believe is really important and supported for 40 years, so I was very happy to be asked to help with this.”
For the remix, Gabriel incorporated “The Spirituals Choir, a group using song as a means of reclaiming and celebrating Black spirituals, composers and musicians. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, vocalists had to record their parts individually on smart phones. “It was a race against time but definitely worth it,“ added Gabriel. “The Spirituals Choir is committed to telling stories of social justice and black history to a new generation which fits very well with the inspiration in the story of Steve Biko.”
Amnesty International was instrumental in the creation of a declaration of human rights and freeing Nelson Mandela, among other campaigns for change and education.
Watch “Freedom Flight” below: