En la caliente — Tales of A Reggaeton Warrior
Despite being hugely popular in Cuba, reggaeton is barely heard on official media and is banned from public spaces. This intense and passionate film immerses us in the youth cultural phenomenon that reggaeton represented since its emergence in the mid-90s in Santiago de Cuba, under the undeniable leadership of Kandyman. In the midst of the […]
Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band: Road Diary
At 75, Bruce Springsteen remains the ‘boss’ of one of the greatest live bands in rock history. With two dozen Grammy Awards under his belt and at least one album in the Top 5 of each of the last six decades, Springsteen himself deciphers the unique alchemy of such an incredibly long-lived group. Following the […]
They All Came Out to Montreux
In the 60s, Claude Nobs founded a jazz festival to promote his hometown, the idyllic Montreux (Switzerland). The festival quickly expanded to include more genres and became a creative paradise for some of the most important musicians of the 20th century, such as Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, and David Bowie. This […]
Saravah
Pierre Barouh | 1972 | France, Brasil | 62 min. In 1969, French singer, songwriter, and producer Pierre Barouh (founder of the legendary jazz label Saravah) traveled to Rio de Janeiro to explore a music that fascinated him: samba. Recorded in bars, courtyards, and clubs, we find a handful of sparkling and informal musical conversations […]
Pavements
This film about the iconic 90s indie band Pavement appears to be a conventional music documentary, until it’s NOT. More like a caustic and hilarious hybrid of musical, documentary, fiction, and comedy, it portrays the band members as they prepare, after 12 years of silence, for their 2022 reunion tour. Simultaneously, we witness the production […]
Ornette Coleman: Made in America
Restored version of a classic, freewheeling musical documentary. It captures the evolution over three decades of saxophonist and trumpeter Ornette Coleman, a foundational figure of avant-garde jazz. We see him in action in New York, Morocco, Nigeria, and his native Texas. Interviews, dramatized scenes, and and some of the first music video-style segments ever made […]
One Hand Don’t Clap
A fully restored celebration of vibrant colors and metallic drums in this film about calypso music, filmed during the 1986 carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. The film traces the history of a genre that combines irreverent humor, social commentary, and colonial resistance, from its Afro-West Indian roots in the Caribbean nation to its global rise […]
Mogwai: If The Stars Had a Sound
“It’s a very Scottish duality.” With a certain irony, this film explains the bipolarity between subtlety and brute force, beauty and desolation, celestial drones and hellish walls of distortion, with which Mogwai has prevailed for over 25 years as one of the defining bands of post-rock. These football-loving friends from Glasgow even seem surprised by […]
Misty: The Erroll Garner Story
Only through the eyes of those who knew him, this film answers the mystery of what Erroll Garner was really like behind the eternal smile with which he enjoyed and growled at the piano. A self-taught master of melody, with a distinctive style, both rough and warm and lyrical, that combined swing, bop, and impressionism, […]
Me, Michael and I
Michael Jackson has inspired a legion of impersonators, but few can compare to Freddy Dufour (aka Truthwalker), a 24-year-old from Quebec who dedicates himself to it literally, body and soul. This film follows him in his quest for “perfection” without ever judging him, allowing us to witness how idolization can turn into an all-consuming obsession. […]
June
Until Reese Witherspoon’s Oscar-winning portrayal in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, much of the public was unaware of country music icon June Carter. This documentary offers a more complete, human, and realistic portrait that goes beyond the stereotype of the selfless and saving wife. Family, friends, country stars, and a flood of unseen […]
Il segreto di Liberato
A dreamlike hybrid of documentary, biopic, and anime about the personal universe of Liberato, the enigmatic masked musician and singer who, fusing urban rhythms, electronics, and Neapolitan neo-melodic song, has become a youth phenomenon in Italy and Europe without ever revealing his identity. Beyond the sentimental landscape of his music videos—graffiti, saints, joints, scooters, Maradona, […]
Harder Than the Rock
The untold story of The Cimarons, the first to raise the flag of reggae in the British Isles. Jamaican-born young men from North London who became the resident band of the legendary Trojan Records label, worked side by side with great figures such as Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Ken Boothe, Toots, The Pioneers, or Lee […]
Googoosh: Made of Fire
Can a singer recover her voice after 20 years of house arrest? This is the incredible story of Googoosh, the Iranian pop star and actress of the 60s and 70s whom Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamist regime wanted to silence forever. Overflowing with charisma and tenacity, Googoosh recalls from exile the epic ups and downs of a […]
Feneen
An immersion into the powerful urban music and subculture of Senegal, particularly in the capital city, Dakar. A collaboration between Senegalese pop star Leuz Diwane G and Italian rapper F.U.L.A (who visits his family’s homeland for the first time) serves as the starting point for a journey where musicians, producers, graffiti artists, dancers, and activists […]
Born to Be Wild: The Story of Steppenwolf
Its appearance in the movie Easy Rider launched the iconic “Born to Be Wild” to the status of a generational anthem and propelled Steppenwolf as one of the most emblematic and mysterious hard rock bands of the late 60s and early 70s. This is the tumultuous rise and fall of a group of young men […]
blur: Live at Wembley Stadium
A cinematic memory of Blur’s historic concerts at Wembley Stadium in July 2023, shortly before the release of their acclaimed comeback album, The Ballad of Darren. More than three decades after their debut, the band enjoyed a thrilling mass audience and performed their classic Britpop repertoire before 150,000 devoted fans. The biggest concerts of their […]
Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall
A passionate chronicle of the evolution of dancehall in Brooklyn, from its Kingston sound system roots to the global explosion of artists like Shaggy and Sean Paul. A carousel of musicians, producers, selectors, choreographers, and an invaluable arsenal of unreleased VHS tapes evoke the vitality and bombastic energy of the 80s and 90s scene. The […]
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story
A poignant example of the price an artist pays for refusing to be dictated to, Jackie Shane was a black transgender singer in segregated 1950s Nashville. With a powerful soul and R&B voice, and a friend and mentor to Little Richard, Shane rejected primetime TV shows that restricted her appearance or excluded Black audiences and […]
A Way To Die: The Films of Peter Christopherson and John Balance
A descent into the visual underworld of English post-industrial group Coil. Its founders, Peter Christopherson and John Balance, were also experimental filmmakers obsessed with death, homoeroticism, and moral subversion. This anthology unearths and restores their films: travelogues, music videos, commercials, unreleased footage, and especially 8mm and 16mm short films connected to the worldview of filmmakers […]
1-800-on-Her-Own
Ani DiFranco lays it all bare, just as she did on the albums that made her a feminist and queer icon, and one of the most influential voices of the 90s. The Buffalo, NY singer-songwriter, who embodied protest-fueled, emotionally charged folk-rock during the grunge era, continues to operate independently. As she fights to be heard, […]
This Is A Film About The Black Keys
The duo formed by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, the most successful and influential in modern rock, described itself as a “marriage of convenience” in this insightful study of their relationship, based on candid interviews and a wealth of archival footage. Their stubborn ambition and a strong musical connection drive the journey of two Ohio […]
The Stones and Brian Jones
The most comprehensive and revealing documentary about Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones and one of the tragic figures of 1960s rock as a member of the “27 Club.” Featuring abundant interviews with those from his inner circle since childhood, personal correspondence, and a wealth of unseen footage, the director of documentaries like “Kurt […]
Simple Minds: Everything is Possible
A close and richly detailed portrayal of the journey of working-class youths from Glasgow who transformed from an emerging new romantic band into stadium rock icons. In the 1980s, Simple Minds rubbed shoulders with U2, headlined massive benefit concerts like Live Aid, and conquered with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from “The Breakfast Club” soundtrack. […]
Luther: Never Too Much
An intimate and touching portrait of the legendary soul and R&B singer Luther Vandross. From his beginnings on Sesame Street, his collaborations with David Bowie, Bette Midler, Chic, Sister Sledge, and Roberta Flack, to his Grammy Award wins in the 1980s, the documentary elegantly and profoundly explores not only his unparalleled talent but also his […]
DEVO
A vibrant journey through time that captures the subversive essence of the pioneers of electronic punk and the art of the music video. With a dizzying visual style inspired by silent cinema, classic Sci-Fi films, and 1950s advertising, the director of documentaries like “Jim & Andy,” “Fyre,” and “American Movie” celebrates the wild trajectory of […]
Blur: To the End
The unexpected return of the revered Britpop group for the recording of their first album in 8 years, “The Ballad of Darren,” and the celebration of two massive concerts at Wembley Stadium, is explained here as the reunion of old friends who, for various reasons, need to rekindle their personal relationship and musical chemistry. They […]
Heaven Stood Still: The Incarnations of Willy DeVille
There has been no one quite like Willy DeVille: “an old soul”, an incurable romantic who lived intensely and chaotically like a bohemian pirate—feisty, charming, jinxed, and poetic—eternally grappling with addiction. From the punk scene at CBGB’s in New York to a ranch in Mississippi, via Paris and New Orleans, countless accounts guide us through […]
The Legacy of J Dilla
The New York Times presents this portrait of the brilliant and influential hip-hop artist and producer J Dilla (aka Jay Dee), who tragically passed away from a rare illness just days after his 32nd birthday, following the release of the absolute classic, “Donuts” (2006). Featuring exclusive material provided by his family, it delves into the […]
The Elephant 6 Recording Co.
The collective story of how a handful of teenagers from Ruston, Louisiana, embarked on a journey of experimenting with any random instrument they could find, recording themselves on cassette tapes, and eventually becoming leaders of one of the defining movements in 1990s underground pop. Guided by the DIY ethos, lo-fi productions, and a love for […]