Joe Strummer’s untimely death in December 2002 sent shockwaves around the world of music and beyond. Yet friends and family were determined that his spirit would live on. In this documentary, Grammy award-winning filmmaker Don Letts shows how Joe’s unique contribution to the music world is manifesting itself through a charity set up in his memory – Strummerville. The film features contributions from supporters and founders of the charity, including Billy Bragg (interviewed at Sheffield’s own Showroom Cinema) and Damien Hirst, plus wonderful footage of Strummer himself.
Following the screening there will be a Q&A with Beans On Toast and Trish Whelan director of the Strummerville charity. There will be live sets from Strummerville bands Smokey Angle Shades, Beans On Toast, The Riff Raff and Nimmo & The Gauntletts.
Dir. Peter Care 60mins
With introduction by Ken Hollings
Peter Care’s controversial short film, ‘Johnny YesNo’, was made in 1979. Its original soundtrack, recorded and produced by Cabaret Voltaire, was released as an album two years later. This year, Mute will be releasing a box set, of film and music, comprising the original compilation , a re-imagining of the film, additional footage and bonus material, all featuring new remixes by Richard H. Kirk. This is a special presentation of the original, extract from Johnny YesNo Redux and a series of short new works.
Dir. Gilles Weinzaepflen France 2008 52mins Subtitled
Jean-Jacques Perrey, now enjoying his Alpine retirement, was a pioneer of electronic music in the early 1950s. With the patronage of Jean Cocteau and Edith Piaf he left France for the US where his career really took off. The documentary interviews the likes of Angelo Badalamenti, Air and Michel Gondry all of whom have been greatly influenced by Perrey’s groundbreaking electronic pop.
Dirs. David Giese & Iacopo Patierno Sweden 2009 1hr 1min
An entertaining account of the Scandinavian electro skweee music scene. They called it skweee because it reflected the need to squeeze everything out of cheap, homebuilt, lo fi equipment. This engaging film follows the skweee players from the Stockholm suburbs to a soundclash at Sonar festival. We guarantee Call It Skweee will have you warming to the individuality and unique charm of these bleep-and-squeak music pioneers.
The story of one of the most important record labels of the 20th Century. Keep on Running features a myriad of artists all ready and willing to pay tribute to the work of one man, Chris Blackwell. To all intents and purposes Island Recordsis Chris Blackwell and his love of Jamaican music was his main motivation for starting out. His first foray into music artist management was with Millie Small and from this point on, not only did his career soar, but he vowed to look after artists as a long term relationship rather than for short term gain. It is this ethos that has carried the Island Records brand and engendered an artist loyalty rarely seen in an often fickle industry. It’s common knowledge that Island signed the likes of Bob Marley and U2 but their roster also included artists from Frankie Goes to Hollywood to Pulp to Amy Winehouse.
Dirs. Sufjan Stevens & Reuben Kleiner USA 2009 40mins
The UK premiere of musical genius Sufjan Stevens’ film, commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music and inspired by the stop start motion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway – and also the Hula-Hoop. The result is a widescreen triptych ode to a potholed, serpentine trunk road that doesn’t really work. New York’s “other boroughs” are captured by utilising time-lapse photography and post-production mirror effects to transform urban blight into beautiful compositions. Accompanied by Stevens’ band and a chamber orchestra, the soundtrack is inspired by Gershwin, Terry Riley, Charles Ives and Warp Records’ Autechre. Sufjan Stevens “The B.Q.E” licensed courtesy of Rough Trade Records Ltd and New Jerusalem Music.
Dir. Paul Windridge UK 2009 8mins Quadroscopic split screen
On this night time underground, overground train journey we travel in a time-altered, mirrored world which turns reality, quite literally, on it’s head and motivates us to view it in a completely different way.
The defence and the prosecution have rested and the jury files into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty of murder. What seems like an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors’ preconceptions about the accused and each other. The film is entirely set in the claustrophobic jury room on a hot summer’s day. Nigel and Klive Humberstone join forces with saxophonist Rob Skeet to create a complementary, minimal score to this classic courtroom drama.
Sensoria is renowned for taking events into unusual venues and this year we’re pleased to have gained access to Sheffield Law Courts for this unique presentation.
* Please note – there is a limited capacity for both screenings, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Dir. Bruno Natal Brazil 2007 1hr 15mins The documentary “Dub Echoes” shows how the Jamaican invention called dub ended up influencing much of the music we hear today, from electronic music to hip-hop, transforming the studio into a musical instrument and giving way to all sorts of sonic experiments.
With “Raw Power”, Iggy & The Stooges reinvented themselves and set out to conquer the world, but the world had other plans. The album crashed and burned along with the band. But “Raw Power” survived as a sacred talisman of proto-punk fury, spurring young rockers to take up the fight. This documentary tells the unlikely story of the fall and rise of “Raw Power”. Featuring interviews with Iggy Pop, Johnny Marr, Chrissie Hynde, Henry Rollins and others; plus never-before-seen 1973 concert footage.
A programme of computer-generated, screen-based artworks exploring the relationships between sound, image and extreme temporality. Three artists (Mark Fell, Theo Burt and Ernest Edmonds) working with computational processes present a programme of works exploring exceptionally close correlations between digital sound synthesis, colour, geometry and time. The event includes rare high-definition and 8.1 surround sound versions of the works; and a lecture by the eminent computer artist and theorist Professor Ernest Edmonds.
Following a competition run in Exposed magazine, readers voted what is the best ever movie soundtrack.
The winning film will be announced at the beginning of April.
Dir. Vikram Jayanti UK 2008 1hr 44mins + interview
Phil Spector is the American music producer who created the Wall of Sound and had an immense impact on popular music today. His life has been no less extraordinary. The film was made in 2008, before Spector was pronounced guilty of homicide. In this, his first on-screen interview, the recluse also spoke of the musical instincts that led him to create some of the most enduring hit records of all time including ‘You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’. Following the screening Adrian Wootton, CEO, Film London will interview Anthony Wall, Series Editor, Arena. A hugely respected, leading figure in broadcast television, Anthony Wall has worked on the mutli award-winning Areana strand for thirty years. He will discuss the music programmes over the years, his highs and lows and what, given the opportunity, he might have done differently during the course of his career in television production. The interview will feature clips from other Arena Music documentaries and there will be an audience Q&A.
One of the most prolific, pioneering figures in 20th century music, Raymond Scott’s career started with a 1930s swing jazz quintet and continued through to the avant garde electronic music of the 1970s. Scott was quoted as the man that ‘made cartoons swing’ – his music was used in Warners’ Bugs Bunny and Road Runner animations. He later invented the electronium, a prototype fax machine and worked for Motown as their Head of R&D. Still largely unknown to the general public, this documentary tells the story of Scott’s life and career from the perspective of his son Stan Warnow.
Director Stan Warnow will be interviewed by Martyn Ware (Future of Sound/Heaven 17) and give a Q&A following the screening.
Dirs. Vincent Moon & Nat Le Scouarnec Scotland 2009 49mins
A stunning, raw performance film stylishly shot in monochrome that captures Scottish band Mogwai performing an incandescent show in front of a mesmerised audience. Expect a wall of Mogwai sound with immersive visuals.
This exhibition presents current tendencies in visual media by interdisciplinary artists working in the fields of digital music, generative art and graphic design.
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The UK premiere and limited edition book launch of Pete’s first international show. Teenage kicks is a brand new exhibition of 22 paintings by McKee. The exhibition is a celebration of British youth culture, music and fashion from the beginning of the 50’s right through to the late 80’s when kids stopped dressing up and listening to music properly and started playing on computers instead, not that the artist is bitter or owt. Pete will also be launching a very strictly limited edition book of the show.
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A chilled out aftershow including film screening, Caribbean food and Riddimtion sound system.
MUSICALLY MAD
Dir: Karl Folke Sweden 2008 59mins
A loving, well crafted history of the sound system culture that was transferred from Kingston to Britain, featuring interviews and archive footage of the influential singers and soundmen from venues in London, Leeds and Manchester. Tracing the musical and technical history of UK sound systems it features Mad Professor, Mikey Dread, Fatman Sound, Channel One, DJ Stryder, Mighty Tabot and Yorkshire’s Iration Steppas.
In The City, which takes place in Manchester from 13 - 15 October, will present a new film programme strand in association with the Sensoria Festival of Music & Film. Four new music-related movies will be screened this year including the much... more »
Following a highly successful 3rd year, Sensoria, the UK’s festival of film, music & digital will be back in April/May 2011. The festival is expanding from 7 to 10 days and the SensoriaPro industry event is expanding from 1 to 2 days. Dates... more »
DAY ONE Friday 23 /DAY TWO Saturday 24 /DAY THREE Sunday 25 / DAY FOUR Monday 26 / DAY FIVE Tuesday 27 / DAY SIX Wednesday 28 / DAY SEVEN Thursday... more »
