2015 has been the year when movies with pop music-related subjects have renewed their massive audience appeal. Some of the biggest success stories, from NWA’s biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’ to the record breaking Amy Winehouse documentary, were based on the biographies of iconic artists. The festival Sonic strand’s eclectic selection timely underlines the growing importance of that symbiotic relationship between those two creative fields.
The strand’s gala is the biopic of young Palestinian star Mohammad Assaf and his incredible road to success from his origins in Gaza to his ‘Arab idol’ victory. Directed by two-time Academy award nominee Hany Abu Hassad, ‘The Idol’ follows the steps of ‘Paradise Now’ and ‘Oman’ with what looks like a sure-fire crowd pleaser. Almost in the opposite end of the spectrum, thrill seekers will likely be pleased by Philippine punk artist Khavn De La Cruz’s latest feature ‘Ruined Heart: Another Love Story between a Criminal and A Whore’.
Another standout of the sonic programme is ‘The American Epic Sessions’, a companion to HBO’s three-part documentary series ‘American Epic’, exploring the beginnings of phonographic recordings in the 1920s. Producer T-Bone Burnet; Jack White and executive producer Robert Redford are behind this project reconstructing the original Western Electric Lathe and inviting an stellar cast of guest that features Elton John, Willie Nelson, Beck, Nas, Alabama Shakes and many more to perform live and record their songs with it.
Elsewhere, we find interesting documentary profiles of a wide range of artists, among them Janis Joplin; Leon Russell; Hot Sugar or home-grown band The Maccabees, exploring the surroundings of the recording studio in Elephant and Castle where they made their latest album. Next to them, other key figures from the music industry such as The Ramones’ manager Danny Fields; influential hip-hop radio DJs Stretch and Bobbito or journalist Sacha Jenkins, famous for his chronicles of the hip-hop style and culture. The ‘Sound Mirrors’ collection brings David Bowie; Patti Smith or Steve Marriott as featured in some of the chosen shorts.
The political and historical struggles musicians have endured around the world provide two of the festival’s most exciting works: “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodian Lost Rock and roll’ exploring the country’s burgeoning rock scene in the early 60s, before the Vietnam conflict and the Khemer Rouge mass genocide put an end to it; and more contemporary, the struggles of Malian musicians forced into exile by fundamentalists occupying their land are portrayed in ‘They Will Have To Kill Us First’.
Beyond the music section there are other surprises to be found, the biggest of which may be Laurie Anderson’s performance, part of the LFF Connect series of events. The avant-garde American artist comes to support her latest film ‘Heart Of The Dog’. Another American alternative legend, Kim Gordon, has a small role in the German horror film ‘Der Nachtmarh’. And last but not least, there are two musicals on offer; Johnnie To’s intriguing ‘Office’, inspired by the recent financial crisis and one of the year’s restored Treasures, ‘Kiss Me Kate’, in which Cole Porter adapted Shakespeare for Broadway.
As a sampler of such a culturally diverse music proposition, we’ve created the following playlist. Hope you enjoy it!
| LONDON FILM FESTIVAL: SONIC AND BEYOND (Spotify Playlist) | |
| MOHAMMAD ASSAF-Ya Halali Ya Mali (From the Sonic Strand Gala "THE IDOL") |
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| THE RAMONES-Danny Says (From "DANNY SAYS") |
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| JACK WHITE-I'm Shakin ' (One of the artists featured in "THE AMERICAN EPIC SESSIONS") |
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| YOL AULARONG-Sou Slarp Kroam Kombut Srey (From "DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN: CAMBODIA'S LOST ROCK AND ROLL") |
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| THE MACCABEES-Marks To Prove It (From "ELEPHANT DAYS") |
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| AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE-Planet Rock (From "FRESH DRESSED") |
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| HOT SUGAR-Sinkies ("HOT SUGAR'S COLD WORLD") |
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| JANIS JOPLIN-Little Girl Blue (From "JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE") |
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| LEON RUSSELL-It's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall ("A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON") |
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| KHAVN FEAT. BING AUSTRIA & THE FLIPPIN' SOUL STOMPERS-Ruined Heart (From "RUINED HEART: ANOTHER LOVE SOTRY BETWEEN A CRIMINAL AND A WHORE") |
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| O.C.-Time's Up (From "STRETCH & BOBBITO : RADIO THAT CHANGED LIVES") |
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| SONGHOY BLUES-Al Hassidi Terei (From "THEY WILL HAVE TO KILL US FIRST: MALIAN MUSIC IN EXILE") |
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| PATTI SMITH-Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith stars in the "Sound Mirrors" short film "THREE STONES FOR JEAN GENET") |
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| STEVE MARRIOTT-Tin Soldier (Steve Marriott is the subject of "Sound Mirrors" short film "MIDNIGHT OF MY LIFE") |
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| DAVID BOWIE-Let's Dance (From "Sound Mirrors" short film "LET'S DANCE: BOWIE DOWN UNDER") |
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| LAURIE ANDERSON-Drum Dance & Smoke Rings (Presenting her feature "HEART OF A DOG" and also performing live as one of LFF Connect events) |
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| KIM GORDON FEAT. DJ OLIVE & IKUE MORI-What Do You Want (Kim Gordon appears in "DER NACHTMAHR") |
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| ANNE MILLER-Too Darn Hot (From "KISS ME KATE", one of this year's restored Treasures) |
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| PTU-Outro (From "OFFICE", Johnnie To's financial crisis musical) |