Illustration by Shannon DeLurio By Crista Blowers Flashback to April 2018, Beyoncé Knowles, the first African American woman to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. About six months after her twin babies were born, more hard work had begun. Now it is available for all to watch on the streaming service Netflix. Written, directed and produced by Beyoncé herself, the film “Homecoming,” gives audiences an inside look at the lengthy process of putting on her Coachella performance. From her diet, how long they practiced and the personal hand-picking of the over 200 performers who accompanied her on stage. With videos shown throughout to display practices and Beyoncé’s personal notes on the journey. The dedication and hard work displayed by Beyoncé and her whole team would make any viewer exhausted just from watching it. As DJ Khaled said, “Coachella gotta rename itself Beychella.” Being a strong advocate, she uses her platform to speak on the importance of cultural inclusion and representation. With voice-overs from Maya Angelou, Audre Lorde and other African American forerunners, the stories and narratives within the concert and film are as inspirational as it is entertaining. The film is brilliantly edited as well. The transitions between the two different shows are so flawless you’d think it was the same exact performance. The casual footage of the audiences shows excitement and tears of utter joy. The performance was the furthest away from boring. All involved were color coordinated and perfectly in sync the whole performance, making every move mesmerizing to watch. Beyoncé’s iconic vocals are only heightened by the full orchestra, steppers and surprise guests from her husband Jay-Z, sister Solange Knowles and Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Beyoncé fans will be pleased with the 137-minute long film and 40-song live concert album. Hoping for full life biography type documentary in the future.
