Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the punk band Bikini Kill and dance-punk trio Le Tigre, rose to national attention as the reluctant but never shy voice of the riot grrrl movement. She became one of the most famously outspoken feminist icons, a cultural lightning rod. Her critics wished she would just shut-up, and her fans hoped she never would. So in 2005, when Hanna stopped shouting, many wondered why. Through 20 years of archival footage and intimate interviews with Hanna, The Punk Singer takes viewers on a fascinating tour of contemporary music and offers a view into the life of this fearless leader.
This film captures a year in the life of the Portuguese musician The Legendary Tigerman in his pursuit for new songs for the album True he just released in March 2014. It shows how a single man is immersed in his creativity and all the processes of making a music record being a one man band, from the first music “scratches” to the live show.
In 1983 the New York City teenage band, Miller, Miller, Miller & Sloan was hot and popular, playing at such famous venues as CBGB’s. By 1988 the band was still together but life was intervening. By 1993 it ‘disbanded’. Then in 2007 the filmmaker went back to see what happened to them as individuals, to explore where the ‘dream’ of making it and the intense creativity of that time had taken them in their lives. This is not a typical ‘behind the music’ story, but one which speaks to the resilience and resourcefulness that people can acquire in pursuing creative goals.
A documentary about the life and work of musician, composer, poet, actor, activist, columnist, music producer, José Mário Branco, a multitalented man who have been using his songs to transform the country and whose lyrics make as much sense today as they did 40 years ago. The shooting began in 2005 covered seven years of rehearsals, recording, talks and concerts, both in Portugal and France. In this film José Mário Branco talks about music, his convictions, his generation, the dictatorship, the colonial war and his imprisonment and exile. It is the portrait of a man for whom “the song [was always] a weapon.”
This intimate portrait will reveal uncommon stories of groundbreaking visual artist and pioneer of minimalist electronic rock, Alan Vega, vocalist and composer for 1970s and 80s punk/post punk duo Suicide. Alan plays with the camera and enjoys the friendship of filmmaker Losier, while also loving, fighting and living with his family—Liz Lamere, his wife and collaborator, and their son Dante, young replica of Alan. Traces of joy, eccentricity, illumination but also deep fatigue and slow Suicide. The rock-n-roll Alan is still very alive, funny and rebellious!
Welsh musician Gruff Rhys documents his latest musical road trip, retracing the fantastical adventure of his 18th Century relative, the explorer John Evans, who travelled to America in 1792 in search of a lost tribe of Welsh-speaking Native Americans. Alone and without a horse, he walked into the wilderness of the Great Plains and reappeared 7 years later as Don Juan Evans having changed the shape of American history. Fiction, fact, fantasy, myth and music documentary collide in American Interior as Rhys uncovers Evans’ legacy to American, the true circumstances of his death, and his final resting place.
In the slums of Cairo, youth dances to electro chaabi, a new music that blends folk song, electro beats and freestyles chanted in the style of rap. The idea is to merge such chaotic sounds and styles. Victim of corruption and social segregation, youth in neighbourhoods exorcise partying. They release the body, the repressed speech and transgress religious taboos: more than just a musical phenomenon, Electro Chaabi is a healthy outlet for youth oppressed by the imposed prohibitions.
Europe in 8 Bits is a documentary that explores the world of chip music, a new musical trend that is growing exponentially throughout Europe. The stars of this musical movement reveal to us how to reuse old videogames hardware like Nintendo’s GameBoy and the Commodore 64 to turn them into a tool capable of creating a new sound, a modern tempo and an innovative musical style. This is a new way of interpreting music performed by a great many artists who show their skills in turning these limited machines designed for leisure in the 80’s into surprising musical instruments and graphical tools. In short, it’s an attempt to present this musical universe to a wider audience that is not aware of these new ways of making music, which raise passion and make an impact on alternative societies
A three-time Tony Award-winner, the Broadway musical FELA! captivated audiences and critics with the story of Fela Kuti, the renowned Afrobeat musician who struggled on behalf of human rights in his native Nigeria. Now the production has been transported in its entirety to Kuti’s hometown of Lagos, where it will become the first Broadway show in history to perform in Africa with its original cast. This feature-length film will document the performance and reception of this production as the acclaimed musical FELA! is finally brought home.
A strange singer with God-given talent drifts through his adopted city of Memphis with its canopy of ancient oak trees, streets of shattered windows, and aura of burning spirituality. Surrounded by beautiful women, legendary musicians, a stone-cold hustler, a righteous preacher, and a wolf pack of kids, the sweet, yet unstable, performer avoids the recording studio, driven by his own form of self-discovery. His journey quickly drags him from love and happiness right to the edge of another dimension.
In this documentary-musical, indie singer Rae Spoon takes us on a playful, meditative and at times melancholic journey. Set against majestic images of the infinite expanses of the Canadian Prairies, Spoon sweetly croons us through their queer and musical coming of age. Interviews, performances and music sequences reveal Spoon’s inspiring process of building a life of their own, as a transsexual person and as a musician.
This is a unique music documentary celebrating 40 years of rock ‘n’ roll icon Bruce Springsteen. Working with the director, Baillie Walsh, The Boss’ fans have submitted clips to create a film that reflects on their personal insights and experiences, exploring what this timeless artist means to them. Combined with the unreleased archival footage of Springsteen’s performances throughout his career, and his incredible music, this is a film for the people, by the people.
A musician on the road. The spirit of rock. Rock n’roll. The trailer. The journey. The rest are human encounters on a cold Europe. From Spain to the Netherlands, beginning in a rehearsal’s session in Palmela. There’s Mazgani’s gift. The return home and the show in Lisbon. The glory of a glaring internationalization.
Documentary on the Brazilian romantic, sentimental and erotic imaginary based on the works of the most important composers of popular romantic music, genre also known as brega (cheesy). In these songs, the lyrics create a true chronicle of romantic practices.
Billed as “pensioners behaving badly”, Young@Heart is a chorus like no other. With an average age of 80, their renditions of rock’n’roll songs from the likes of Coldplay, Hendrix and The Clash have won terrific reviews all over the world.This touching documentary follows chorus members as they prepare a new show.
