Sound Unseen comes to Austin for the first time

Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival Director had long had a dream: to bring his popular Minneapolis-based film festival to Austin, the city he lived in for a good amount of time. It made sense to screen music-based or themed documentaries and films to a music-centric city like Austin. So, as the film festival made some innovations to deal with the pandemic limitations (no in-person screenings) by going virtual, they also added the state of Texas along with Minnesota for those virtual screenings in 2020.

And the success of that venture, meant the next step was ready to be taken: Sound Unseen was finally going to Austin. So, on October 27 and 29, Bobbi Jo Hart’s documentary FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK and Todd Rohal’s seminal indie classic THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE were set to test the waters at the Austin Film Society’s theaters. Better yet, Fanny guitarist Patti Quatro was lined up to talk to filmmaker Lisa Donato (GOSSAMER FOLDS) on Thursday, and Todd Rohal agreed to attend his screening and have a conversation on film with friend and fellow director Jeff Nichols (TAKE SHELTER, MUD). Here are some photos from those two screening events:

Patti Quatro and Sound Unseen’s Jim Brunzell before the screening of FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK. (Photo by Wildman)

Austin Asian-American FF’s Rock Shum joins Patti Quatro and Jim Brunzell before the screening. (Photo by Wildman)

Sound Unseen’s Jim Brunzell introducing the first in-person Sound Unseen screening in Austin – ever. (Photo by Wildman)

Fanny’s Patti Quatro telling the crown to brace themselves for the rock n’ roll women about to hit the big screen. (Photo by Wildman)

Filmmaker (and avowed Fanny devotee) Lisa Donato moderates the Q&A with Patti Quatro.
(Photo by Wildman)

At one point in the conversation, Lisa got Patti to promise that if a narrative film was ever made about the band, that she would get to direct it.

On Friday night’s Sound Unseen 15th Anniversary screening of Todd Rohal’s indie classic THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE, it seemed as if the Austin filmmaking faithful all came out to support friend and colleague Rohal and give him his due. Yen Tan (1984), Michael Tully (PING PONG SUMMER), and Clay Liford (WUSS) were among the attending crowd.

Todd Rohal and Sound Unseen’s Jim Brunzell prior to the screening.
(Photo by Wildman)

Todd Rohal with Jeff Nichols moderating the Q&A (Photo by Wildman)

Nichols and Rohal did an entertaining deep dive into the challenges, achievements and arguable misfires of shooting a film at that point in their careers. Nichols was complimentary of the ambition and audacity of shots and scenes that made it into Rohal’s film while Rohal was self-deprecating, saying that Nichols’ “restraint” led to him having the successful career he has had to date.