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The Square, a new film by Jehane Noujaim (Control Room; Rafea: Solar Mama), looks at the hard realities faced day-to-day by people working to build Egypt’s new democracy. Catapulting us into the action spread across 2011 and 2012, the film provides a kaleidoscopic, visceral experience of the struggle. Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the heart and soul of the film, which follows several young activists. Armed with values, determination, music, humor, an abundance of social media, and sheer obstinacy, they know that the thorny path to democracy only began with Hosni Mubarek’s fall. The life-and-death struggle between the people and the power of the state is still playing out.
The story of a close-knit group of young kids in Nazi Germany who listen to banned swing music from the US. Soon dancing and fun leads to more difficult choices as the Nazi’s begin tightening the grip on Germany. Each member of the group is forced to face some tough choices about right, wrong, and survival.
High school music teacher Beth Landon puts herself on the line when she invites world-famous country singer Jason Keith to perform at her rural town’s Strawberry Festival. A one-hit wonder with a horrible rep for cancelling shows and copping an attitude, Jason isn’t what Beth’s mother, Eileen, considers a reliable musical act for the beloved festival, which she is proudly hosting with her good friend Ruth. Beth, reigning as Strawberry Queen, attempts to stick up for her favorite singer, but when she finally meets Jason face-to-face, it becomes obvious it won’t be easy. But behind Jason’s rock star image, he’s hiding a secret about his past that could turn his tanking career around. Along with his manager Ray, Beth convinces Jason the festival gig is a great way to revitalize his career and win back his audience appeal. As Jason spends more time with Beth, his attitude starts to fade as they each encourage the other to realize their deepest dreams as talented musicians.
The band stormed Europe in 1963, and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today. All the while, the group were composing and recording a series of extraordinarily successful singles and albums. However the relentless pressure of such unprecedented fame, that in 1966 became uncontrollable turmoil, led to the decision to stop touring. In the ensuing years The Beatles were then free to focus on a series of albums that changed the face of recorded music.
Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
Long before O’Reilly and Beck, Morton Downey, Jr., was tearing up the talk-show format with his divisive populism. Between the fistfights, rabid audience, and Mort’s cigarette smoke always “in your face,” The Morton Downey Jr. Show was billed as “3-D television,” “rock and roll without the music.” Évocateur meditates on the hysteria that ended the ’80s and ultimately its most notorious agitator.
In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on. But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against the backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe. In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews with the band and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humor and painful honesty.
James Brown changed the face of American music forever. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, James Brown was a self-made man who became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, not just through his music, but also as a social activist. Charting his journey from rhythm and blues to funk, MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN features rare and previously unseen footage, photographs and interviews, chronicling the musical ascension of “the hardest working man in show business,” from his first hit, “Please, Please, Please,” in 1956, to his iconic performances at the Apollo Theater, the T.A.M.I. Show, the Paris Olympia and more.
As an NYPD officer in the late 60s and early 70s, Frank Serpico blew the whistle on the corruption and payoffs running rampant in the department, was shot in the face during a drug arrest, and most famously became the subject of Sidney Lumet’s classic film SERPICO. Forty-plus years later, Serpico talks about his Southern Italian roots and upbringing, his time as an undercover officer, and his post-NYPD life in Europe and ultimately upstate New York. Adding their own recollections are his fellow officers, childhood friends, his West Side neighbors, and his admirers such as writer Luc Sante and actor John Turturro. With unprecedented access to its subject and augmented by original music by Jack White and an original score by Brendan Canty of Fugazi, Antonino D’Ambrosio creates a memorable, powerful portrait of an always-committed public servant who still walks the walk in his very own unique way.
Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock ‘n’ roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury’s increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.
Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences. Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.
From committing crime in order to eat to surviving an uncaring treatment facility, these youth face unimaginable circumstances, but this musical brings authentic voices and their unseen stories to the screen.
When we are young, we sometimes feel that the world is stacked against us. This is the case for 16 year-old Steeve Simard (Lévi Doré), who is entering his last year at Gaston-Miron High School in St-Lambert. A cynical intellectual with a critical view of himself and the world, he struggles to establish bonds with his parents and peers. He only has one friend: Virgil (Jonathan St-Armand). In order to evade his loneliness and fill a void in his imagination, he seeks refuge in his books and music. However, an incident with the star of the Spartans football team, will force Steeve to come out of his shell and face his destiny…
The Young Believers is the story of four Christian teens that are navigating through their senior year in high school. The teens use God’s Word as their weapon of choice against the temptations that confront them. This is a remarkable film which promotes godly living. Four teens, Delilah, Leah, David and Luke, have known each other for years and they make a pact at the beginning of high school that they will not drink alcohol, do drugs or have sex before marriage. They are committed to the Lord but soon face challenges in keeping their promises. A boy named Jude dates Delilah and wants to take their relationship to another level. David is offered alcohol, Leah faces her parent’s divorce and deals with it by not allowing herself to be vulnerable, and Luke is tempted to play other kinds of music rather than music for the Lord.
In this film, childhood friends come face to face with the demons of rock and roll (lust, drugs, and passion) on a cross-country road trip that compels them to face their past, present, and future. Rocker Spyder, whose debut album was a huge hit saw his follow-on album bomb, causing him to retreat to his small hometown and give up. Seven years later, 27-year-old Spyder reconnects with his long-lost best friend and writer of his debut album Eric, son of a late great punk rock guitar legend, who has long settled into the sedate life of a suburban middle school music teacher. The reunion forces the two to recall their youthful ambitions and re-examine the choices they’ve made.
VAMPIRE DOG is a feature length family film about finding courage and discovering that you belong. Ace, a 12-year-old boy is new in middle school. His grandfather from Transylvania passes away at the ripe age of 99, and sends him his dog, Fang, to look after. Ace soon discovers that Fang is a vampire dog. Professor Warhol, a mad scientist and her bumbling assistant Frank, try to capture Fang to steal his DNA, in order to look young. They are constantly in pursuit of Fang but Fang uses his superpowers to stay one step ahead of them. During their adventure Ace shows Fang how to behave like a normal dog and embrace his vampire powers. Fang helps Ace open up and come alive again through his music. Ace and Fang discover with the help of each other, when they face their fears, they can do anything.
When Spanish record producers express interest in Cuban musicians Ruy and Tito, the longtime friends are faced with the prospect of leaving their loved ones behind. After years of hoping and dreaming, they’ve finally earned the opportunity to bring their music to the rest of the world. But are the emotional trade-offs worth it in the end?
Lachlan MacAldonich is a self-described “lazy Scotsman” and former guitar player for a once-popular 1990s rock band. No longer famous, he now lives a comfortably numb existence working on an organic farm outside Los Angeles. He drinks himself into a stupor every night and retires to his shabby apartment to record his podcast, recounting the tragic deaths of great musicians. After a particularly heavy night of drowning his sorrows at a local watering hole, he is arrested for driving under the influence. This snag, coupled with a long-ago conviction for a drug offense, means Lachlan faces possible deportation. His only hope of remaining stateside is proving that his absence would cause extreme hardship for a spouse or relative – forcing him to confront relationships he thought were buried forever.
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a feature length performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is Rap music. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is the film’s director and interviewer Ice-T. Taking us on a deeply personal journey Ice-T uncovers how this music of the street has grown to dominate the world. Along the way Ice-T meets a whole spectrum of Hip-Hop talent, from founders, to new faces, to the global superstars like Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and then, through meeting many of its most famous protagonists, studies the living mechanism of the music to reveal ‘The Art Of Rap’. This extraordinary film features unique performances from the entire cast, without resorting to archive material, to build a fresh and surprising take on the phenomenon that is Rap.
Get ready for one last romp of magical, musical shenanigans because Harry and his pals are back for their senior year at Hogwarts! The gang’s in for their biggest adventure yet as they face off against old enemies, new foes and giant snakes! Will they win or will they lose? Either way, this is the end!
“The big ALL FUN show for the whole family to enjoy!” was the tagline for this musical comedy classic. Sir Howard Morrison (as himself) and Rotorua are the stars in the tiki-flavoured tale. Moving from Sydney to a Rotorua music festival the plot centres on a romance between a young drummer (Gary Wallace) and his girl Judy (Carmen Duncan) and the hurdles they face to stay true. But this is only an excuse for a melange of madcap, pep-filled musical fun. Made by John O’Shea’s Pacific Films, it features Kiri Te Kanawa, Lew Pryme and Aussie star Norman Rowe.
In the glitzy, glittering futuristic world of 1994, music is king — and the man who controls it is all-powerful malicious mogul Mr. Boogalow. Now he has his eye on two fresh-faced young singers, Alphie and Bibi, who score a hit at his WorldVision Song Festival and fall under the irresistible spell of fame, money, and temptation.
