BOY HOWDY! Sound Unseen Announces Film Lineup for 20th Anniversary Edition with a John Doe appearance and a double dose of Ondi Timoner
The Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival (November 12-17) announced the film lineup for this year’s 20th Anniversary edition of the film festival. Highlights include a special appearance by John Doe with the screening of W.T. Morgan’s documentary X: THE UNHEARD MUSIC, award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner coming to Sound Unseen with a 15th Anniversary screening of her film, DIG!, as well as a special presentation of the MAPPLETHORPE Director’s Cut. Sound Unseen also announced that Scott Crawford’s BOY HOWDY: THE STORY OF CREEM MAGAZINE, would be the Closing Night selection.
Sound Unseen Festival Director Jim Brunzell and Producer/Co-Programmer Rich Gill, said, “Our lineup this year is a wonderful mix of films hot on the film festival circuit, classics, and screenings that include appearances by wonderful filmmakers and musicians. We are really excited about this group of films and events built around them that should make our 20th Anniversary edition truly memorable.”
Scott Crawford’s BOY HOWDY: THE STORY OF CREEM MAGAZINE joins the previously announced Seamus Murphy’s A DOG CALLED MONEY (Opening Night), and Brandon Vedder’s STRANGE NEGOTIATIONS (Centerpiece) to complete an impressive trio of Gala screenings. BOY HOWDY: THE STORY OF CREEM MAGAZINE looks at the seminal Creem Magazine’s humble beginnings to becoming one of the publications of record for rock n’ roll. Fifty years after publishing its first issue, “America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine” remains a seditious spirit in music and culture. The film features interviews with Cameron Crowe, Alice Cooper, Kirk Hammett, Joan Jett, Michael Stipe, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Chad Smith, Peter Wolf and Wayne Kramer.
The one and only John Doe of X will come to Sound Unseen as part of a presentation of W.T. Morgan’s X: THE UNHEARD MUSIC. Screened on 35mm, the film is one of the best music films of the punk era. Shot over the course of five years, this documentary presents spectacular live performances interspersed with interviews with the band members and associates.
The only filmmaker to be a two-time Sundance Film Festival Grand Prize Jury Winner, Ondi Timoner comes to Minnesota with two of her films. The first is the 15th Anniversary screening of DIG!. The 2004 documentary looked at the collision of art and commerce through the eyes of The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The film was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art for their permanent collection. Timoner will also be on hand for her Director’s Cut of MAPPLETHORPE. Led by a devastating performance by Matt Smith in the title role, the stylish and well-crafted biopic covers the full life of its subject, world renowned and controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, most frequently providing an alluring view of New York in its grittiest era.
Other highlights include; ALL I CAN SAY, a film created from hours of home video footage shot by tragic Blind Melon front man Shannon Hoon; Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni‘s GORDON LIGHTFOOT: IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND, a portrait of Canada’s most famous singer-songwriter; Tyler Measom’s I WANT MY MTV, which traces the beginnings and exploding influence of the music video channel; Steven Gaddis’ LIVE FROM THE ASTROTURF: ALICE COOPER, about a super-secret concert event at a record store in Dallas, featuring the legendary shock rocker; the North American premiere of Simon David’s TIME AND PLACE, about cult favorite Atlanta R&B artist Lee Moses; and Brent Hodges’ WHO LET THE DOGS OUT, which explores the history, influence, and story behind the famous (or infamous) song.
Jurors, panels, musicians and events will be announced Wednesday, October 23. For more information about Sound Unseen, as well as how to purchase tickets, go to: http://www.soundunseen.com.
The 2019 Sound Unseen Film Festival official selections:
Opening Night Selection
A DOG CALLED MONEY MIDWEST PREMIERE
Director: Seamus Murphy
Countries: Ireland/UK, Running Time: 90 min
Alternative-music icon PJ Harvey’s ninth studio album, 2016’s “The Hope Six Demolition Project,” was created through a unique process that blended travelogue, photography, performance art, and now a documentary feature. It began when Harvey, looking to develop a new set of politically tinged songs that would also evoke a tangible sense of place, decided to accompany award-winning photojournalist and filmmaker Seamus Murphy as he travelled on assignments to war-torn regions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as to the poor, mostly black neighborhoods of Washington, D.C.
CENTERPIECE SELECTION
STRANGE NEGOTIATIONS MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Brandon Vedder
Countries: USA, Running Time: 91 min
After renouncing his long-held Christian beliefs and walking away from his critically-acclaimed band, Pedro the Lion, musician David Bazan retreated into a solitary life of touring solo, struggling to rebuild his worldview and career from the ground-up, and to support his family of four. STRANGE NEGOTIATIONS finds David a decade into his journey, during which he has become a sort of reluctant prophet to Americans reeling from their country’s own crisis of faith highlighted during the 2016 presidential election.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION
BOY HOWDY: THE STORY OF CREEM MAGAZINE
MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Scott Crawford
Country: USA, Running Time: 75 min
Capturing the messy upheaval of the ’70s just as rock was re-inventing itself, the film explores Creem Magazine’s humble beginnings in post-riot Detroit, follows its upward trajectory from underground paper to national powerhouse, then bears witness to its imminent demise following the tragic and untimely deaths of its visionary publisher, Barry Kramer, and its most famous alum and genius clown prince, Lester Bangs, a year later.
SPECIAL 40TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING
ALL THAT JAZZ (1979)
Director: Bob Fosse
Country: USA, Running Time: 123 min
Winner of four Academy Awards and the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’or. When he is not planning for his upcoming stage musical or working on his Hollywood film, choreographer/director Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is popping pills and sleeping with a seemingly endless line of women. The physical and mental stress begins to take a toll on the ragged perfectionist. Soon, he must decide whether or not his non-stop work schedule and hedonistic lifestyle are worth risking his life. The film is a semi-autobiographical tale written and directed by the legendary Bob Fosse.
SPECIAL 15th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING
DIG! (2004)
Director: Ondi Timoner
Country: USA, Running Time: 100 min
DIG! is a 2004 documentary film about the collision of art and commerce through the eyes of The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, focusing on the developing careers and the love-hate relationship of the bands’ respective frontmen Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Anton Newcombe. It was shot over seven years and compiled from over 2500 hours of footage.
Additional Feature Films
ALL I CAN SAY MIDWEST PREMIERE
Directors: Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould
Coleen Hennessy, Shannon Hoon
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
Shannon Hoon, lead singer of the rock band Blind Melon, filmed himself from 1990-95 with a Hi8 video camera, recording up until a few hours before his sudden death at the age of 28. His camera was a diary and his closest confidant. In the hundreds of hours of footage, Hoon meticulously documented his life – his family, his creative process, his television, his band’s rise to fame and his struggle with addiction.
BEATS MIDWEST PREMIERE
Director: Brian Welsh
Country: UK, Running Time: 101 min
In the mid-1990s, the United Kingdom was overrun by raves: illegal parties with heavy beats and an endless supply of drugs. The Criminal Justice Bill introduced by the government in 1994 criminalized ‘gathering around repetitive beats’. This led to massive protests and even more raves. Against that background, BEATS showcases the unlikely friendship; between teens Spanner and Johnno in a Scottish town. The first is living with his criminal brother, the other is facing a move to a new town with his family and his potential new stepfather, who happens to be a cop. On their last night out, the two friends steal cash from Spanner’s brother and journey into an underworld of anarchy, freedom and collision with the forces of law and order.
BRAINIAC: TRANSMISSIONS AFTER ZERO MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Eric Mahoney
Country: USA, Running Time: 108 min
In the mid 90’s, the Dayton, Ohio music scene became a hot spot generating world wide buzz from the influential indie rock being produced there (The Breeders, Guided by Voices). Arguably the most innovative of them all was the band Brainiac, led by musical genius and insanely charismatic front man Tim Taylor. The band was opening for Beck and being courted by major labels when Tim was tragically killed in a bizarre auto accident leaving his family and bandmates to pick up the pieces.
DAVE GRUSIN: NOT ENOUGH TIME MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Barbara Bentree
Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min
DAVE GRUSIN: NOT ENOUGH TIME is an award-winning, “elegant and uplifting” feature-length documentary about one of the 20th Century’s most important music composers. His music is known and loved all over the world but even his most ardent fans don’t completely realize what a phenomenal career he has had. Composer, Pianist, Arranger, Performer and Record Company Executive. He led a completely bi-coastal life for decades flying weekly between LA and NY to work with an astounding list of music and film artists.
DESOLATION CENTER
Director: Stuart Swezey
Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min
DESOLATION CENTER is the previously untold story of a series of early 80s guerrilla music and art performance happenings in Southern California that are recognized to have inspired Burning Man, Lollapalooza and Coachella, collective experiences that have become key elements of popular culture in the 21st century. The feature documentary splices interviews and rare performance footage of Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Swans, Redd Kross, Einstürzende Neubauten, Survival Research Laboratories, Savage Republic and more, documenting a time when pushing the boundaries of music, art, and performance felt almost like an unspoken obligation.
DIGGING FOR WELDON IRVINE MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Victorious De Costa
Country: USA, Running Time: 111 min
Langston Hughes’ cautionary prose has been the stimulus for some of the most important artistic offerings of the 20th century. Chiefly among them, the civil rights anthem “Young, Gifted and Black”, written by prolific musician-composer-playwright Weldon Irvine. In the wake of his untimely death, a focused, contemporary reflection upon his life reveals the astounding irony that Weldon Irvine would come to be one of [the music’s] most quintessential examples of Hughes’ examination.
DONS OF DISCO MIDWEST PREMIERE
Director: Jonathan Sutak
Country: USA, Running Time: 86 min
In the 1980s, Den Harrow dominated the European pop charts with hits like “Future Brain,” “Bad Boy,” and “Don’t Break My Heart.” Thirty years later, American photographer Thomas Barbey makes a startling revelation: he was “the secret voice” behind the project, and Italian Stefano Zandri has allegedly been lip-syncing for decades. In the laugh-out-loud Faustian drama, DONS OF DISCO, a 30-year-old secret, between two middle-aged men, will ignite the most conceptual music rivalry of all time. Who is the “true” artist behind Den Harrow: the face or the voice?
GORDON LIGHTFOOT: IF YOU COULD MINNESOTA PREMIERE
READ MY MIND
Directors: Martha Kehoe, Joan Tosoni
Country: Canada, Running Time: 91 min
GORDON LIGHTFOOT: IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND pays homage to Canada and the talents of their most celebrated son, Gordon Lightfoot, an extraordinary singer/songwriter. The film shows fascinating original footage of Lightfoot over the years, along with many artists who have covered his songs, such as Johnny Cash, Elvis, Neil Young, Judy Collins, and Bob Dylan.
I WANT MY MTV MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Tyler Measom
Country: USA, Running Time: 86 min
I WANT MY MTV takes its audience back to the channel’s beginnings, when the idea of a television channel devoted solely to screening newfangled videos from music’s hottest stars seemed destined for failure. From DEVO and Cyndi Lauper to David Bowie and Madonna, the film provides a peek into how the videos that defined a generation, as well as how the team of young executives—now some of the most prolific and powerful leaders in American media—tasked with growing this seed of an idea, would quickly flourish into a beloved but often controversial cultural juggernaut.
LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Ryland Tews
Country: USA, Running Time: 78 min
The eccentric Captain Seafield hires a crew of specialists to help him plot revenge against the creature that killed his father. After several failed attempts, Seafield is forced to take matters into his own drunken hands. What began as a simple case of man verses beast, soon turns into a rabbit hole of mysterious unknowns and Lovecraftian hijinks.
LIVE FROM THE ASTROTURF: ALICE COOPER MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Steven Gaddis
Country: USA, Running Time: 57 min
Alice Cooper reunites with the surviving members of the original lineup of the band to perform a blistering set on a small stage of pink astroturf at independent music store Good Records in Dallas, TX, 40 years after the band parted ways. Store owner Chris Penn pulls off the near insurmountable task of organizing the event and keeping Alice’s appearance a secret until the original shock-rocker hits the stage.
MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND
MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Midge Costin
Country: USA, Running Time: 94 min
MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND reveals the hidden power of sound in cinema – and the unsung heroes whose creative breakthroughs have impacted the most beloved, classic films. Through film clips, interviews and archival footage, this documentary captures the history, impact and process of this overlooked art form.
MAPPLETHORPE: DIRECTOR’S CUT MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Ondi Timoner
Country: USA, Running Time: 111 min
This stylish and well-crafted biopic covers the full life of its subject, world renowned and controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, most frequently providing an alluring view of New York in its grittiest era.
MYSTIFY: MICHAEL HUTCHENCE MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Richard Lowenstein
Country: Australia, Running Time: 102 min
MYSTIFY: MICHAEL HUTCHENCE is a powerfully intimate and insightful portrait of the internationally renowned INXS frontman, Michael Hutchence. Deftly woven from an extraordinary archive of rich imagery, Michael’s private home movies and those of his lovers, friends, and family, the film delves beneath the public persona of the charismatic ‘Rock God’ and transports us through the looking glass to reveal a multifaceted, intensely sensitive and complex man.
OTHER MUSIC MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Directors: Puloma Basu, Rob Hatch-Miller
Country: USA, Running Time: 84 min
Other Music was an influential and uncompromising New York City record store that was vital to the city’s early 2000s indie music scene. But when the store is forced to close its door due to rent increases, the homogenization of urban culture, and the shift from CDs to downloadable and streaming music, a cultural landmark is lost.
PICK IT UP! SKA IN THE 90S MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Taylor Morden
Country: USA, Running Time: 100 min
Documentary about the rise and fall of the third wave of Ska music. It tells the story of how an underground music scene somehow managed to survive being thrust into the mainstream spotlight for a brief moment in the ’90s. The movie features members of No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sublime, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake.
PIPE DREAMS MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Stacey Tenenbaum
Country: Canada, Running Time: 78 min
PIPE DREAMS follows 5 organists as they compete in Canada’s International Organ Competition. Held every 3 years in Montreal, this competition for organists under the age of 35, is one of the most exclusive competitions in the world. With over $100 000 worth of prize money on the line – tensions run high as our competitors vie for the top prize.
PUNK THE CAPITAL MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Directors: Paul Bishow, James Scheider
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
Film explores what happened when punk invaded our nation’s capital in the mid-late 1970’s. It was a culture clash – a collision between the music of anarchy and a city known for its conservatism. It was a recipe for potential disaster – but it resulted in a powerful cultural movement that flamed, ruled, and burned out all in the space of seven exciting years.
THE SHOW’S THE THING: LEGENDARY MINNESOTA PREMIERE
PROMOTERS OF ROCK
Directors: Molly Bernstein, Philip Dolin
Country: USA, Running Time: 97 min
When legendary talent agent Frank Barsalona handpicked promoters around the country to feature his musical acts beginning in the 1960s, he changed the shape of live music performance forever and helped skyocket the likes of the Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie and Bon Jovi into superstardom.
TIME AND PLACE NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Director: Simon David
Country: USA, Running Time: 75 min
TIME AND PLACE is a moving portrait of Lee Moses, soul musician wonder forgotten by his hometown Atlanta. Lee Moses made one album and about thirty songs. Most of them were covers. He acquired the status of legend by deep soul record collectors and general music fans. His hometown Atlanta having forgotten him, this is the portrait of a man who was a good friend and brother.
TOMMY EMANUEL: THE ENDLESS ROAD MIDWEST PREMIERE
Director: Jeremy Dylan Potts
Country: Australia, Running Time: 80 min
From the Australian outback to Music City USA, a child guitar prodigy dedicates his life to become the world’s greatest acoustic guitarist, even as revelations of dark family secrets send him into a battle with addiction that threatens to destroy his career, his family and his life. Featuring interviews with Barry Gibb, Steve Vai, John Oates, Olivia Newton-John and Joe Satriani.
WHEN IT BREAKS MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Todd Tue
Country: USA, Running Time: 67 min
Film follows the inspiring story of Special Education teacher Konrad Wert (aka Possessed by Paul James) and his personal journey to avoid becoming another victim of teacher burnout. Stepping away from the classroom, Wert turns to his musical side career as a means to tour the country with his family and engage teachers, parents, and audiences in a conversation about the current state of Special Education. As opportunities arise, Konrad must decide how his service is most effective- as an advocating artist or as a teacher in the classroom.
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Brent Hodge
Country: Canada, Running Time: 61 min
“Who Let the Dogs Out” is a song that has transcended generations, and has led Ben Sisto to dedicate eight years exploring and exposing a story steeped in show business, legal battles, female empowerment, artistic integrity and one very catchy hook. This documentary follows Sisto on his popular live talks across North America that explain the story of “Who Let The Dogs Out” accompanied by a museum of over 250 pieces of ephemera relating to the song and its origins.
X: THE UNHEARD MUSIC SPECIAL SCREENING
Director: W.T. Morgan
Country: USA, Running Time: 84 min
What a band. What a concert movie. Shot over the course of five years, this documentary presents spectacular live performances interspersed with interviews with the band members and associates.
YOU GAVE ME A SONG: THE TIME AND MINNESOTA PREMIERE
MUSIC OF ALICE GERRARD
Director: Kenny Dalsheimer
Country: USA, Running Time: 78 min
An intimate portrait of old-time music pioneer Alice Gerrard and her remarkable, unpredictable journey creating and preserving traditional music. The film follows eighty-four-year old Gerrard over several years, weaving together verité footage of living room rehearsals, recording sessions, songwriting, archival work, and performances with photos and rare field recordings.
Short Films
A BEAUTIFUL MESS
Director: Matt Marlinski
Country: USA, Running Time: 26 min
A VICTIM OF SOCIETY – AMNESIA MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Dimitris Kotselis
Country: Greece, Running Time: 4 min
BRONCHO – BIG CITY BOYS MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Richard Farmer
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
CALL-IN
Director: Ethan Vander Broek
Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min
CHRISTMAS ON THE MOON MIDWEST PREMIERE
Director: Lado Kvataniya
Country: Russian Federation, Running Time: 7 min
COCAINE MARCH MIDWEST PREMIERE
Director: Ilya Belov
Country: Russian Federation, Running Time: 4 min
CULLEN’S TICKET TO RIDE
Director: Justin Atkinson
Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min
DANIEL LAURENT – OUTSIDE MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Jeffrey Palmer
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
GUSTAAAKH MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Vijesh Rajan
Country: India, Running Time: 4 min
HIRAETH EP MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Joel Porter
Country: USA, Running Time: 22 min
INSTRUMENTS IN THE ARCHITECTURE: MINNESOTA PREMIERE
BUILDING THE PIANODROME
Directors: Will Hewitt, Austen McCowan
Country: UK, Running Time: 13 min
KATE SCHELL – YOU AND YOUR SHADOW MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Nick Rush
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
KISS ME MALIBU MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Mikel Arraiz
Country: Spain, Running Time: 4 min
LET THE BLONDE SING MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Rachel Knoll
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min
LOSS LEADER – INDIVISIBLE MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Nick Rush
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
LOST WEEKEND MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Directors: Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min
MIKE MAIMOME – THROUGH THE CHANGE MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Nick Rush
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
MUSIC FOR FREE
Directors: Keenan Desplanques, Ben Weaver
Country: USA, Running Time: 22 min
THE MUSIC SOUNDS BETTER WITH WHOM: MIDWEST PREMIERE
THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ON THE MUSIC EXPERIENCE
Director: Chasson Gracie
Countries: Canada/Japan/USA, Running Time: 19 min
MUTTS MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Nick Rush
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
THE ODYSSEY OF CLEVE EATON MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Kevin Webb
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
ORBIT MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Tess Martin
Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min
RADIO VOORWARTS MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Mateo Vega
Country: Netherlands, Running Time: 20 min
SNOW ABOVE THE EARTH MIDWEST PREMIERE
Director: Ilya Belov
Country: Russian Federation, Running Time: 8 min
VOYAGE INTO THE WELL-TEMPERED MINNESOTA PREMIERE
CLAVIER
Directors: Martin Mirabel, Mariano Nante
Country: USA, Running Time: 32 min
WOMXN MINNESOTA PREMIERE
Director: Adrian Gystere Peskine
Country: France, Running Time: 5 min
