A Singing Stream

A compilation of four separate items from documentarian Tom Davenport, A Singing Stream includes the titular 1985 film, which presents an affectionate portrait of the African-American Landis family of Creedmoor, NC, focusing in particular on 86-year old matriarch Bertha, who looks back on the clan's difficult climb from tenant-farmer status to land ownership earlier in the century. The major theme here centers on how religious faith and song have kept the family close and strong over the years. Bertha's sons formed a gospel quartet, The Golden Echoes, which has performed widely, while girls from the family make up the quintet Echoes of Heaven, which is also quite active. And while the film concentrates on the family dynamic—observing members in their daily lives and at reunions, as well as in musical sets—it also inevitably touches on civil rights issues including integration and voting registration. A Singing Stream is complemented by footage recording Bertha Landis's funeral in 2000, and A Singing Stream Reunion (2015), which brings the family's story into the generation of Bertha's grandchildren. The fourth item, When My Work Is Over: The Life and Stories of Miss Louise Anderson, serves up a portrait of noted African-American storyteller Louise Anderson, and is largely composed of interviews conducted with Anderson from 1989-94, and illustrated with archival material and recollections from her sisters. Both Landis and Anderson emerge as strong women who overcame the incredible obstacles posed by segregation while forging independent, productive lives for themselves in the South. An engaging and thought-provoking collection, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)