Doc'n Roll Film Festival's 6th London edition returns to the capital from November 1 - 17 at eight of the city’s best-loved cinemas. Its diverse line-up of 30 music documentaries spotlights music-makers and genres that include Zambian rock to Krautrock, jazz to jungle; from prog to folk and noise rock to feminist punk; and from the selling of the soul of alt-rock to an unexpectedly moving portrait of two of its most devoted fans.
Featuring 6 world, 17 UK and 7 London premieres, filmmaker and artist Q&As and live music events, Doc’n Roll London 2019 kicks off on November 1 at the Barbican Centre with the London premiere of A Dog Called Money, a look at the creative process of PJ Harvey. The film explores the collaboration between writer and musician Polly Harvey and award-winning photographer Seamus Murphy that came about when Harvey sought first-hand experience of the countries she wanted to write about. She accompanied Murphy on worldwide reporting trips in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Washington DC. Harvey collected words, Murphy collected images.
Other highlights include:
Sat Nov 2, 8:00pm - Barbican Cinemas
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Sat Nov 9, 9:00pm - The Castle Cinema
UK Premiere
Where Does a Body End? Swans + Q&A featuring the director
Dir. Marco Porsia, 2019, Canada, 121 mins
WHERE DOES A BODY END? is an intimate portrait of Michael Gira and SWANS, from the band’s roots as a brutal, confrontational post-punk project in the early 1980s New York City scene that gave the world both Sonic Youth and Madonna, through to an ill-fated bid at mainstream success in the 1990s indie-rock goldrush. The film captures the band’s triumphs and trials, breakups and chaos both on and offstage, and offers a front-row view of an uncompromising, charismatic and acclaimed alt-rock visionary and concerts that are beautiful, brutal and ecstatic rituals.
Sun Nov 3, TBC 5:00pm - Picturehouse Central
London Premiere
Dennis & Lois + Q&A featuring the director
Dir. Chris Cassidy, 2019, USA, 87 mins
DENNIS AND LOIS is a love story about punk rock’s most dedicated couple and their 40-year devotion to the music and the musicians they follow. These two road warriors live for the communal and unpredictable experience of a live concert. Their journey began in the mid-1970s at a gritty little club in New York City called CBGBs, where Dennis and Lois befriended an up-and-coming band, The Ramones. They quickly became part of the band’s inner circle, selling their T-shirts and assisting the future punk legends on tours around the world. This experience would change their lives forever. Dennis and Lois continue to build friendships and sell merchandise for the bands they admire.
Sun Nov 3, 6:00pm - Curzon Soho
London Premiere
Once Aurora
Dir. Benjamin Langeland and Stian Servoss, 2019, Norway, 52 mins
ONCE AURORA is a cinematic portrait of a pop sensation from a small town in Norway. Discovered at the age of 16, Aurora dropped out of school and spent the next years touring the world. At the age of 20, she is at a critical crossroads as a creative artist. Is this really what she wants, but if not, does she have any other option but to continue?
Tue Nov 5, TBC 5:00pm - Picturehouse Central
UK Premiere
There Will Be Rock - The Legendary Promoters of Rock + Q&A featuring the director
Dirs. Molly Berstein and Philip Dolin, 2019, USA, 97 mins
THERE WILL BE ROCK - THE LEGENDARY PROMOTERS OF ROCK is a tribute to the small group of music-obsessed hustlers who brought live rock’n’roll to the world. In the beginning, there were Bill Graham and Frank Barsalona, twin titans in the making. Graham was in San Francisco re-inventing the way popular music was promoted and presented. Barsalona formed Premier Talent Agency in New York and hand-picked promoters around the country to present his English Invasion acts: Ron Delsener in NYC, The Belkin Brothers in Cleveland, Arny Granat in Chicago, Don Law in Boston and Larry Magid in Philly. A few hundred thousand live shows later, the rest is history. The film features interviews with the promoters and agents who built the business, along with artists Carlos Santana, Jon Bon Jovi and Bob Geldof – just a few of the many musicians who wouldn’t have had careers without them. Through photos, playbills and posters, and hard-rocking archival footage of the music that changed the world forever, the film evokes the vibrant texture of the times. From the small clubs that Frank Zappa called “psychedelic dungeons” to the sold-out stadiums of Live Aid, this documentary celebrates a key but little-known chapter in the story of one of the greatest art forms of our era: live rock.
Sun Nov 17, 5:00pm - Curzon Soho
UK Premiere
David Crosby - Remember My Name + Q&A featuring the director
Dir. A.J. Eaton, 2019, UK USA, 95 mins
A triumph at Sundance, this inspired collaboration between director A.J. Eaton and producer Cameron Crowe coaxes David Crosby into unflinching candour as the singer-songwriter confronts mortality and assesses the toll taken on him and those around him by the life he led in his earlier years. Unflinchingly honest, it is also a redemptive journey back to music that is universally inspiring and uplifting, with an emotional impact that transcends the rock documentary genre.
In the twilight of his days as a living legend, “Croz” has chosen living over the legend. He’s making less money but more music than ever, hitting the road despite serious health problems, surrounded by young players who have helped inspire a critically acclaimed creative streak of fresh songs, albums and performances. As a troubled talent and an uncompromising spirit whose voice has been harmoniously woven into the fabric of pop culture and music royalty since the mid-1960s (first with the Byrds but most famously as a founding member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), Crosby is a masterful raconteur and unsparingly self-aware survivor.
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