Music Documentary

Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World (2023)

“Public Enemy’s Chuck D leads a cast of hip-hop icons and leading African-American and Latino cultural commentators as they chart the factors that led to the birth of the revolutionary art form of hip-hop in 1970s New York, as well as the creation of the seminal hit The Message. 

They evoke a picture of how, after the turbulence of the 60s and the civil rights struggles, desperate social conditions and the experience of countless dispossessed people of colour living in a city mired in crisis helped give birth to a new art form.”

THE NOWHERE INN (2021) Dakota Johnson, St. Vincent

‘A rockumentary with a whole load of differences, The Nowhere Inn asks who the real Annie Clark is and winds up without an answer, giving away next to nothing about the woman behind St. Vincent apart from the fact that she has a pretty damn dark sense of humour. Melding a deadpan mockumentary with moody live footage from the ‘Masseduction’ tour and a heavily stylised psychological thriller, Annie Clark plays herself, as does her best friend Carrie Brownstein, who Clark has hired to make a film about her.’

The Velvet Underground (2021) Dir. Todd Haynes

‘The Velvet Underground. A hypnotic new documentary and the first major film to tell the band’s legendary story. Playing in theaters and on Apple TV+ now. The Velvet Underground created a new sound that changed the world of music, cementing its place as one of rock and roll’s most revered bands. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage. ‘

The film looks great, superb editing using split screen and much of Andy Warhol's films from the period. The film is as much about the experimental art/ film scene as well as the music and band. Featuring interviews with film maker Jonas Mekas too

INTERVIEWS / Director Q&A…

This filmmaker conversation (below) from IDA, features director and producer Todd Haynes and producers Carolyn Hepburn, Christopher Clements, and Julie Goldman, moderated by Anne Thompson, Editor at Large at IndieWire.
At 12.53 Todd Haynes talks about the way the interviews were shot and why they were treated, edited, formatted how they were.

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Summer Soul (...Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) - Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (2021)

Such an amazing film! Footage unseen for 50 years. Amazing performances from: Stevie Wonder, Sly and the family Stone, Nina Simone, Staple Singers... Great music but also covers the shift in politics, culture and identity. Essential watch!

”Summer of Soul (...Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is the acclaimed debut by filmmaker Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson. For six weeks in the summer of 1969, just 100 miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). It was an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. After that summer, the footage was never seen and largely forgotten – until now.

Summer of Soul brings us back to a powerful and transformative moment in history and stands as a testament to music and culture as collective empowerment. In times of unrest, it comes as a moving testimony and an inspiration. Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson presents a powerful and transporting film that includes never-before-seen concert performances from Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach and more.” - Watershed

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All Tomorrow's Parties (2009)

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‘A kaleidoscopic journey into the parallel musical universe of cult music festival All Tomorrow's Parties.’ IMDB

‘All Tomorrow's Parties is a 2009 documentary film directed by All Tomorrow's People and Jonathan Caouette covering the history of the long running All Tomorrow's Parties music festival. Described as a "post-punk DIY bricolage", the film was created using footage generated by the fans and musicians attending the events themselves, on a multitude of formats including Super8, camcorder and mobile phone. All Tomorrow's People is a name representing the contributions of these attendees.

The film features music and performances from Belle And Sebastian, Grizzly Bear, Sonic Youth, Battles, Boards of Canada, Portishead, Daniel Johnston, Grinderman, Lightning Bolt, David Cross, Animal Collective, The Boredoms, Les Savy Fav, Mogwai, Octopus Project, Slint, Dirty Three, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Gossip, GZA, Roscoe Mitchell, Seasick Steve, Iggy and the Stooges, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Fuck Buttons, Micah P Hinson, Two Gallants, The Mars Volta, Akron/Family, Jah Shaka, Saul Williams, Shellac, Patti Smith and John Cooper Clarke. ‘ Wiki

a documentary about the All Tomorrow's Parties festival held yearly in England. features interviews and performances by Animal Collective, Grinderman, Battles, Belle and Sebastian, Dirty Three, comedian David Cross, and more

Cobain: Montage of Heck

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Hailed as one of the most innovative and intimate documentaries of all time experience Kurt Cobain like never before in the only ever fully authorized portrait of the famed music icon. Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Brett Morgen expertly blends Cobain’s personal archive of art, music, never seen before movies, animation and revelatory interviews from his family and closest friends. Wildly creative and highly acclaimed, follow Kurt from his earliest years in this visceral and detailed cinematic insight of an artist at odds with his surroundings. Fans and those of the Nirvana generation will learn things about Cobain they never knew while those who have recently discovered the man and his music will know what makes him the lasting icon that he still is today