Sound Unseen 2023 Announces Films for the Austin edition of the fest
The 24th Annual Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival announced the film lineup for this year’s Austin presentations, taking place December 6-10. Marking the fourth year of the festival’s expansion to Austin (following screenings in Minneapolis and Rochester, MN), Sound Unseen continues to add to its Austin schedule, solidifying its rare place as a three-city, dual states film festival.
The Opening Night selection will be the Texas premiere of Allison Ellwood’s festival favorite, Let the Canary Sing chronicling Cyndi Lauper’s remarkable career, and the Closing Night selection will be Katherine Propper’s Texas-based rap music-fueled drama Lost Soulz.
Sound Unseen’s Program Director Rich Gill, said, “Sound Unseen Austin keeps growing thanks to the overwhelming enthusiasm we have received since bring the film festival to Texas four years ago. We think the selections this year are sure to add still-more fans to our one-of-kind film festival celebrating music-focused films with sure-fire hits, fascinating and entertaining documentaries that are squarely in the Sound Unseen wheelhouse, and a couple Texas-based films. December can’t get here fast enough for us to bring these cool and wonderful films to Austin.”
Kicking off the screenings at Austin Film Society Cinema (6259 Middle Fiskville Rd) on Wednesday, December 6 will be Allison Ellwood’s Let the Canary Sing. The film looks at Cyndi Lauper’s meteoric ascent to stardom, and her impact as a musical and pop culture icon. The film takes the audience on an engaging exploration of the world of a unique artist and personality who has made an indelible mark on the music industry. The film has been a huge crowd pleaser at several film festivals this year.
The Closing Night selection, screening on Saturday, December 9, will be Katherine Propper’s Lost Soulz. Set to a lo-fi, genre-bending soundtrack, Lost Soulz follows a young rapper as he leaves behind his surrogate family and sets out on an expedition across Texas, contemplating new and old friendships. Propper and additional cast and crew from the film will attend and participate in a post-screening Q&A, followed by a live show at High Noon (2000 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702) featuring performances by Sauve Sidle, Malachi Mabson, Krystall Poppin, Alex Brackney, and Tauran “Big40Thrax” Ambroise.
Highlights among the additional selections include Mike McGuff’s Runaway Radio which recounts the heyday of the legendary Houston-based rock radio station 101 KLOL. The influential station broke new records, defined the culture, and attracted top music artists, all while whipping listeners into a frenzy. That is, until the government stepped in and rock radio in Houston took a big hit. Director McGuff and Producer Jeffrey Brown will both attend and participate in a post-screening Q&A. Joe Gross, Joseph Pattisall, and Jeff Krulik’s We Are Fugazi From Washington D.C. looks at the post-hardcore band Fugazi.20 years since the Washington, DC-based band’s last live appearance, The film comprises crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows and rare archival footage to pay tribute to Fugazi’s prowess as a live act. Co-director Joe Gross will attend and participate in a post-screening Q&A. Sini Anderson’s The Punk Singer (2013) gets a special 10th Anniversary screening on Friday, December 8. The film, which premiered at SXSW in 2013, focuses on Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the punk band Bikini Kill and dance-punk trio Le Tigre, who 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.
Additional films include Andrew Reich’s Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story which looks at Beach Punk musicians Jeff and Steve McDonald, the ultimate rock and roll lifers. Danny Garcia’s Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel (And Other Rock & Roll Stories) explores the hotel’s role in the cultural and artistic movements of the 20th century, from the Beat Generation to the Punk Rock scene. Randy Martin’s Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection looks at the legendary vocalist’s personal struggles through her own words via never-before-released recordings.
For more information about Sound Unseen film lineup, events and tickets, go to: http://www.soundunseen.com.
The 2023 Sound Unseen-Austin official selections:
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
Let the Canary Sing
Director: Alison Ellwood
Country: United States, Running Time: 96 min
Chronicling Cyndi Lauper’s meteoric ascent to stardom and her profound impact on generations through her music, ever-evolving punk style, unwavering feminism, and tireless advocacy. The film takes the audience on an engaging exploration of the world of a renowned and pioneering artist who has left an unparalleled impact on the music industry. The film features interviews with some of Cyndi’s closest friends and family members, including Boy George, Billy Porter, and Patti LaBelle.
CLOSING NIGHT
Lost Soulz
Director: Katherine Propper
Country: United States, Running Time: 95 min
Set to a lo-fi, genre-bending soundtrack, Lost Soulz follows a young rapper as he leaves behind his surrogate family and sets out on an expedition across Texas, contemplating new and old friendships.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection
Director: Randy Martin
Country: United States, Running Time: 98 min
As the #1 American musical act of the 1970s, The Carpenters were on “Top of the World,” producing a string of pop masterpieces, including “Close to You,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” and “Rainy Days and Mondays.” But behind closed doors, Karen’s quest for perfection resulted in low self-esteem, a disheartening love life, and a public battle with anorexia nervosa, which resulted in her untimely death at the age of only 32. For the first time, we hear Karen Carpenter’s personal struggle in her own voice through never-before-released recordings – and through the legendary voices of those who knew her and were inspired by her music, including Carol Burnett, Olivia Newton-John, Kristin Chenoweth, Cynthia Gibb, Suzanne Somers, and Belinda Carlisle.
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story
Director: Andrew Reich
Country: United States, Running Time: 85 min
Formed in 1978 by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, and still actively playing and recording today, Redd Kross are the ultimate rock and roll lifers. They have influenced independent music in ways that beg to be acknowledged. From helping invent Beach Punk to influencing the Grunge and Glam Metal movements, Redd Kross have maintained the highest level of musical integrity, originality and quality for over forty years.
Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel (And Other Rock & Roll Stories)
Director: Danny Garcia
Country: Spain, Running Time: 70 min
The film explores the hotel’s role in the cultural and artistic movements of the 20th century, from the Beat Generation to the Punk Rock scene. It also touches on the controversies and tragedies that have occurred at the hotel, including the mysterious death of Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, who called the Chelsea Hotel “an artistic tornado of death and destruction and love and broken dreams”.
The Punk Singer (2013)
Director: Sini Anderson
Country: United States, Running Time: 82 min
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. Therefore, 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 never-before-seen view into the life of this fearless leader.
Runaway Radio
Director: Mike McGuff
Country: United States, Running Time: 83 min
A legendary Houston, TX rock radio station broke new records, defined the culture, and attracted top music artists, all while whipping listeners into a frenzy. Like an out-of-control locomotive, 101 KLOL seemed unstoppable until the government stepped in. What happened to rock radio? Lyle Lovett, ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill, Melissa Etheridge and Sammy Hagar, along with top DJs from across the US, reflect on how radio changed their lives, and why it’s now hard to find rock on the FM dial.
We Are Fugazi From Washington D.C.
Directors: Joe Gross, Joseph Pattisall, Jeff Krulik
Country: United States, Running Time: 96 min
To commemorate the 20 years that have passed since DC-based post-hardcore band Fugazi’s last live appearance, We Are Fugazi From Washington, DC comprises crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows and rare archival footage to pay tribute to Fugazi’s prowess as a live act — for old fans to remember and for a new generation to discover what they missed. This unique archival assemblage celebrates the fans and their cameras, as much as the band itself — a collision/collusion of the ephemeral moment on stage, and the moments captured on camera.
