Acknowledging the birth of the “one-of-a-kind artist” Nina Simone, Netflix encouraged its followers to stream the 2015 documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?
What is What Happened, Miss Simone?
This Netflix documentary follows the life and music of singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone. The movie airs never-before-seen interviews, archived footage, and recordings of the late singer.
It was directed by the awarding-winning documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus. Garbus previously worked on the documentary projects The Execution of Wanda Jean and Love, Marilyn.
What Happened, Miss Simone? was executively produced by Simone’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, and after premiering at Sundance Film Festival, it was released to Netflix for distribution.
In an interview with Kelly among the movie’s initial release, she shared, “The twelfth anniversary of my mom’s death took place on April 21, 2015. I have spent a lot of that time listening to what people think they know about Nina Simone.”
Kelly added, “This film takes us into my mother’s story — in her own words — her Truth. One of the biggest things I wanted to make sure I did in my mother’s memory was ensure that her truth lived properly.”
Yesterday, Netflix tweeted, “Nina Simone was born February 21, 1933. What happened next was nothing short of a revolution. Go inside the life of this one-of-a-kind artist in What Happened, Miss Simone?” along with a link to the trailer of the documentary.
The movie’s synopsis reads, “Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy.”
This well-acclaimed documentary is highly rated across the movie critic board and during award season, was nominated 18 times with six wins. Among its wins is multiple Primetime Emmy Awards and a Black Reel Award.
What are fans saying?
Via Marginal podcast shared a picture of the musical artist with the caption, “Tip: the Netflix biopic “What happened to you, Miss Simone?” to celebrate her anniversary.”
Another fan shared the Netflix page to the documentary and said, “A perfect day to watch “What Happened, Miss Simone?” if you still haven’t. #legendsareborninfebruary.”
For the past few days, talk about Nina Simone has grown rapidly, with many crediting What Happened, Miss Simone? as being one of the “best documentaries” and an insightful look into institutionalized racism— both in celebration of Simone’s birthday and in retrospection of current political climates.
What Happened, Miss Simone is currently streaming on Netflix.