Digital Video magazine — January 2014
Documenting Social Change and Cultural Shifts: Global Production Challenges on MTV World’s ‘Rebel Music’

The mtvU documentary series Rebel Music examines the lives of young people who use art and music to spark change around the world. The first two 30-minute episodes of the six-part series premiered on November 18, with the remaining episodes debuting weekly on the mtvU network and online at RebelMusic.com. Each episode of Rebel Music highlights a different country grappling with social injustice, from the revolution in Egypt and sexual oppression in India to a Mexican drug harbor struggling to reinvent itself as a cultural haven.

Each episode of Rebel Music highlights a different country grappling with social injustice, from the revolution in Egypt and sexual oppression India, to a Mexican drug harbor struggling to reinvent itself as a cultural haven.

Rebel Music was created and executive produced by Nusrat Durrani, Senior Vice President/General Manager of MTV World, and executive produced by acclaimed graphic artist Shepard Fairey, who also created the visual identity for the series. “Rebel Music mirrors the approach and philosophy I’ve embraced throughout my entire career — art as a catalyst for social change,” says Fairey. “MTV World has the ability to reach and give voices to young people around the world on a scale unlike a lot of other platforms, and it’s something to applaud.”

Two years in the making, the series entailed copious research; the production team worked with local crews as well as documentary luminaries such as Academy Award winner Ross Kauffman, co-director of Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids, who served a consulting producer for the series in addition to photographing the India and Mali segments. (Read full story…)