The In-Edit Festival expands its online catalogue on the CaixaForum+ platform with the addition of 20 music documentaries. This new programme offers a journey through contemporary music and its memory: portraits of iconic artists, underground scenes, key figures in jazz, rock and singer-songwriter traditions, as well as stories of cultural and creative resistance.
Among the documentaries focused on major artist portraits exploring their most intimate life journeys and creative processes are titles such as 1-800-On-Her-Own (Dana Flor), about activism and self-management through Ani DiFranco’s alternative and confessional folk; Joan Baez: I Am A Noise (Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Connor and Karen O’Connor), a blend of memory, activism and traumatic revelations from a key singer-songwriter since the 1960s; Patti Smith: Electric Poet (Anne Cutaia and Sophie Peyrard), which connects poetry, punk and spirituality; or Yo no me llamo Rubén Blades (Abner Benaim), exploring the music, politics and thinking of the Panamanian giant of salsa and Latin American music as a whole. This section is completed by portraits of figures such as Brazilian singer-songwriter Luiz Melodia in Luiz Melodia – No Coração do Brasil (Alessandra Dorgan), or flamenco guitarist Riqueni (Paco Bech), in a film of the same name.
The catalogue also includes stories of resilience and strength led by great women artists, such as Billie (James Erskine), a moving portrait of one of jazz’s greatest divas within a context of racism that marked her career; Fanny: The Right To Rock (Bobbi Jo Hart), which reclaims the legacy of a pioneering all-female hard rock band from the 1970s; or Miss Sharon Jones! (Barbara Kopple), a powerful portrait of the determination to live and sing until the very end by one of the strongest voices in contemporary soul.
Other documentaries allow viewers to immerse themselves in fascinating music scenes from different decades, such as Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary (Robert Schwartzman), the biography of the classic British band, masters of baroque pop; Los Negativos: Graduados en underground (Víctor Carrey), a kaleidoscopic journey into the psychedelic and mod underground of 1980s Barcelona; or Kiko Veneno. Un día Lobo López (Alejandro G. Salgado), about the creation of Échate un cantecito, blending rock, flamenco and Spanish counterculture, one of the most influential works in Spanish-language popular music.
Jazz holds a prominent place in the catalogue with both artistic and political portraits of iconic figures such as Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes (Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro), which connects music and the civil rights struggle through the epic and tortuous life odyssey of one of the greatest drummers in history; or Sonny Rollins: Beyond The Notes (Thea Taylor), focusing on the legendary saxophonist’s personal quest, where improvisation and philosophy set the pace.
In addition, the selection is complemented by three classical music documentaries with very different approaches: Lang Lang: The Art Of Being A Virtuoso (Thomas Grube), about the path to excellence of the renowned Chinese pianist; Rhythm Is It! (Thomas Grube and Enrique Sánchez Lansch), showcasing the transformative power of music and dance through an educational project by the Berlin Philharmonic; and Trip To Asia (Thomas Grube), an encounter between tradition and modernity and a look at the human dimension of the members of the Berlin Philharmonic during a tour of Japan, China and South Korea.
Finally, the catalogue invites audiences to discover other unique stories such as Songs Of Redemption (Amanda Sans and Miquel Galofré), where music plays a mentoring role in social reintegration within a Jamaican prison; Who Let The Dogs Out (Brent Hodge), exploring the iconic early-2000s hit and the many legal battles and cultural appropriation issues hidden behind it; or Uncropped (D.W. Young), the biography of James Hamilton, one of the great cultural photojournalists of music, art, fashion and cinema in New York over seven decades of career — a true icon.
