Genghis Blues

 

(USA, 1999, 88 min.)
Director: Roko Belic

San Francisco blues singer Paul Pena enjoyed some measure of fame as the writer of Steve Miller Band's hit song “Jet Airliner” in 1977. However, in the early 80s it was Tuvan throat singing that captured the interest of this blind musician, a form he discovered while listening to his shortwave radio. Pena became so enamored with this exotic style of vocal harmonics, which is practiced in the southern Siberian region known as Tuva, that he taught himself the language and singing style. Genghis Blues captures the journey Pena makes to Tuva to participate in a triannual singing competition. The documentary chronicles the challenges and triumphs he experiences as a blind man traveling to a foreign land, as well as his wonderful encounters with the local people there. This film won the Sundance Film Festival award for Best Documentary in 1999 and was an Academy Award nominee in 2000.