Rocumentaries, profiles and doc shorts make up much of this years 14th Raindance festival, here are a few highlights followed by a programme of all the documentaries showing at the festival.
Some choice doc viewing comes in the shape of Jerome Laperrousaz’s Made in Jamaica is a powerful portrait of the leaders of the reggae music Movement, and how Reggae has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film showcases performances by the best Reggae and Dance Hall artists ever assembled. From their native ghetto to international fame, Made in Jamaica is the story of the artists who represent the Jamaican Dream.
Rock music has long been an integral part of Raindance, and this year is no exception with a handful of music documentaries that supplant some of the decade’s most significant live performances onto celluloid. Too Tough To Die: A Tribute To Johnny Ramone is a rocumentary capturing an unforgettable benefit concert that took place on September 12, 2004, just two-and-a-half days before Johnny Ramone’s death. Joined onstage by a group of musicians and friends including Deborah Harry, The Dickies, X, Eddie Vedder, Joan Jett, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers the concert was staged to celebrate The Ramones 30th Anniversary and to raise money for cancer research. This world premiere screening, sponsored by HMV, will be introduced by Marky Ramone, followed by a Q&A with Marky and Mojo’s Kieron Tyler.
When Neil Young played Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium in August 2005, after successfully undergoing lifesaving surgery to remove a brain aneurysm just months earlier, his performance was captured by Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme. The resulting feature, Neil Young: Heart Of Gold, is a unique collaboration that has its London premiere at Raindance.
Another London premiere is Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, a biographical snapshot of one of the greatest poets of popular music. Taking the recent ‘Came So Far For Beauty’ tribute concert as its starting point, the film splices live performances of Cohen’s songs by artists like Nick Cave, Beth Orton, and Rufus and Martha Wainwright, with behind-the-scenes interviews that reflect Cohen’s quietly gripping presence and dry humour.
The 14th Raindance Film Festival will celebrate the work of maverick director Stanley Kubrick with a 35th anniversary screening of what is possibly his most notorious work, A Clockwork Orange. Festival filmgoers will also have the opportunity to see Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen. Rounding off this Kubrick retrospective is the acclaimed documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures, which will be hosted by the films director Jan Harlan also Kubrick’s long-time executive producer and brother-in-law.
From Australia comes the subversive and sexually explicit documentary Liberty In Restraint, which follows fetish photographer Noel Graydon as he explores the BDSM community via rope artists, adult babies, electro-torture, and blood play enthusiasts. The result is a provocative, erotic, and graphic exploration of sexual desire and freedom of expression.
A doc programme at Raindance 2006:
THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER
13:00 Only I Know
[Canada, dir Kire Paputts]
Doc about the gradual destruction and dysfunction of a family, using 21 years worth of footage
FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER
15:00 Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal
[USA, dir Kelly Duda]
Doc about how tainted blood was sold to patients in Canada, the UK and around the world during Clinton’s governorship
15:15 Penumbra
[Ireland, dir Gwynne Mcelveen]
Doc following Gwynne who travels from Ireland to Idaho to visit her penfriend Jim
19:00 The Ballad of AJ Weberman
[UK, dir Oliver Ralfe & James Bluemer]
Doc chronicling the life, times and crimes of a notorious Bob Dylan obsessive
19:15 Neil Young: Heart of Gold
[USA, dir Jonathan Demme]
Neil Young’s two-night performance at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville
SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER
22:15 Liberty in Restraint
[Australia, dir Michael Ney]
Doc about S&M subculture that follows a fetish photographer’s quest for authenticity
SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER
13:30 Dancing for Oliver
[UK, dir Suzanne Gielgud]
Doc about the dance scene from Oliver Stone’s Alexander, also known as ‘Bagoas Dance’
20:15 Little Birds
[Japan, dir Takeharu Watai]
Doc following a Japanese filmmaker who remained in Iraq once the US armed forces entered
MONDAY 2 OCTOBER
13:00 HDFest: Mars Underground
[USA, dir Scott J Gill]
Doc about the possibility of life on Mars
18:30 Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures
[UK, dir Jan Harlan]
Pictures, clips, old home movies and commentaries including Jack Nicholson and Scorcese. Followed by Q&A with Jan Harlan
20:45 Next: A Primer on Urban Painting
[Canada, dir Pablo Aravena]
Doc exploring graffiti as a worldwide cultural phenomenon
TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER
13:15 Unauthorized and Proud of It: Todd Loren’s Rock & Roll Comics
[USA, dir Ilko Davidov]
Doc about murdered controversial publisher
15:15 Shorts: Documentary
21:15Get Thrashed
[USA, dir Rick Ernst]
Doc tracing the rise, fall and impact of thrash metal bands
WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER
16:00 Not a Photograph: Mission of Burma
[USA, dir Jeffrey Iwanicki & David A Kleiler Jr]
Doc charting the the seminal post-punk band
15:00 The Mozambique Poo Tour
[UK, dir Phil Turner]
Doc following bands Massukos, and Empty Boat, touring sanitation projects in Mozambique
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER
21:15 Uprooted
[France/USA, dir Donia Mili] Doc exploring issues of resistance in the permanent war zone of the West Bank and East Jerusalem
21:45 Sanctuary
[UK, dir Clive Collier]
Doc about film composer Lisa Gerrard (ex-Dead Can Dance)
FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER
12:45 The Cats of Mirikitani
[USA, dir Linda Hattendorf]
Doc about a homeless Japanese-American artist who regains his citizenship
13:15
Perpetual Movements
[Portugal, dir Edgar Pêra]
Doc homage to the late Portuguese guitarist Carlos Paredes, interspersing archival footage with the sound of his performances and interviews
14:15
Far-Off Town: Dunedin To Nashville
[USA, dir Bridget Sutherland]
Doc about David Kilgour, who joins his friends in the band Lambchop in Nashville
19:30 There Is No Authority But Yourself
[NL, dir Alexander Oey]
Doc about the anarchist-punk band Crass, from 1977 to 1984 through to the present day
21:45 Rampage
[Australia, dir George Gittoes]
Doc about hip-hop in the forbidden zones of occupied Iraq and the badlands of Miami
SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER
15:45 Made in Jamaica
[France/USA, dir Jérôme Laperrousaz]
Made in Jamaica is a powerful portrait of the best reggae and dancehall artists ever assembled. The film describes how they have struggled to leave their native ghetto to achieve international fame and create a musical phenomenon in the process.
19:30 The Trials of Darryl Hunt
[USA, dirs Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg]
Doc about a man who spent 20 years in jail for a crime he did not commit
22:30 All Kindsa Girls
[USA, dir Cheryl Eagan-Donovan]
Doc about garage-punk, focusing on John Felice (ex-Modern Lovers) and the Real Kids
SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER
12:00 The Making of Scenes Of A Sexual Nature
[UK, dir Ed Blum]
An in-depth documentary about tonight’s closing feature Scenes of a Sexual Nature
14:00 My Country My Country
[USA, dir Laura Poitras]
Doc focusing on Dr Riyadh, who wants democracy in Iraq while opposing the US occupation