Bali: Beats of Paradise

Bali: Beats of Paradise is a visionary tale that examines the collective wisdom and talent of Grammy Award-winning artist Judith Hill (20 Feet from Stardom) and Nyoman Wenten - a celebrated Indonesian composer who sets out to pay homage to the sacred but shrinking tradition of Balinese music and dance. This original documentary pulls back the curtain on gamelan music, Bali’s rhythmic style of classical music.

Gamelan has been used in the film Avatar by James Cameron, the TV show Star Trek as well as the Nintendo game Mario Bros. After 40 years of teaching and performing gamelan all over the world, Wenten is approaching retirement and aware of the fleeting popularity of his homeland’s beloved musical tradition. At the same time, Hill is looking for a distinctive sound for a new piece of music she’s composing. After meeting, the two agree on collaborating by blending the sounds of classic funk with the beats of Bali. The final result is an epic music video that catapults gamelan into the digital age.