Sound UnseenSound Unseen Film + Music Fest: RochesterFrom: Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 5:00 PM • To: Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 11:55 PM
The Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival (November 13-17 in Minneapolis, December 5-8 in Rochester, and December 12-14 in Austin) announced the film lineup for this year’s 25th Anniversary edition, presented by Pryes Brewing Company, of the groundbreaking film festival. The rare three-city presentation this year will not simply be a celebration of Sound Unseen’s impact on the world of music documentary filmmaking but will also mark the festival’s last in the current format, as Sound Unseen will take a festival hiatus beyond its monthly screening series and special one-off presentations for the next calendar year.
Highlighted films in Sound Unseen’s Rochester screenings include Dana Flor’s 1-800-On-Her-Own, about the brutally honest, famously foul-mouthed and totally hilarious musical force Ani DiFranco and how she became a worldwide phenomenon when she beat the male-dominated music industry at its own game by founding Righteous Babe Records, the first “woman-run non-corporate queer-happy” label, still going strong after nearly 35 years. Twin/Tone Records’ 7 Nights In The Entry (2007) is a film that was shown once before, at Sound Unseen in 2007, and likely won’t be seen for another 20 years. It captures bands like the Replacements and Hüsker Dü in their beginnings and offers a rare chance to relive being in the room when it was dirty and dangerous. Sound Unseen will also present a special screening of Robert Wiene’s classic German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) accompanied by a live music performance of the film’s score.
The Rochester festival will feature an opening night party with punk heavyweights Rad Owl and Scrunchies along with a closing night party featuring surf rock trio Black Widows and country artist James Eugene Russell.
FILM SCREENINGS
December 5th | 5pm: THE SECRET OF SLEEP
- Percival (John Koerner) gets a call in which he's told to go on a mysterious quest. Percy and his buddy (Willie Murphy) wander around in various utopian settings, but in the end, they return to the city to contend with reality.
Dir. Spider John Koerner, 59min, 1970, USA
December 6th | 7pm: SWAMP DOGG GETS HIS POOL PAINTED (with post screening Q&A with co-director Isaac Gale)
- Hidden away in the suburbs of Los Angeles, legendary cult musician Swamp Dogg, along with housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty, have transformed their home into an artistic playground. Together, they navigate the tumultuous music industry, forging a unique and inspiring bond across time and space.
Dir. Isaac Gale and Ryan Olson, 97min, 2024, USA
NO TRAILER
December 6th | 9pm: ZOMBIES LIVE + Selected early works by Dee Limvere (TBA cast and crew in attendance)
- Zombies Live is a DIY zombie film made by skaters and punk rockers in Rochester, MN in the early 2000's. The film was screened once at the LoVEuGLY Cabaret in 2003 and then a limited number of VHS copies were sold at local shows and record shops. This is the first and last time (maybe) the film will be shown publicly since the premiere. In addition to ZOMBIES LIVE the screening will also contain a collection of music videos and short films by Dee Limvere from that same time period. Dir. Dee Limvere, 70min, 2003, USA
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82EoD7pddPM
December 7th | 4pm: 1-800-ON-HER-OWN
- Ani DiFranco crashed onto the music scene in the early ‘90s, a thundering new voice in the cultural wilderness, unapologetically bisexual, political and feminist. She toured relentlessly, thrashing out hundreds of frenzied shows that were part mosh pit, part hootenanny and part full-on tent revival, then selling cassette tapes from the trunk of her car to make it to the next gig. Ani became a worldwide phenomenon when she beat the male-dominated music industry at its own game by founding Righteous Babe Records, the first “woman-run non-corporate queer-happy” label, still going strong after nearly 35 years. The press called her “an entrepreneurial wonder” and “the industry’s worst nightmare.” Prince called her “my hero.” Ani simply called herself a folk singer, dedicated to art, activism and staying true to herself, no matter the cost. 1-800-ON-HER-OWN takes us on a wild cinematic road trip, from DiFranco’s punk-folk past to her life today as she reinvents herself as a passionate activist and revered rock star. Throughout the ride, she’s brutally honest, famously foul-mouthed and totally hilarious. Her daily challenges resonate as we reveal both an enduring, inspiring musical icon and a very relatable contemporary “everywoman” with her own epic fails and hard-won victories. Dir. Dana Flor, 79min, 2024, USA
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJZWH3HD1ZY
December 7th | 2pm + 9pm: THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (With Live Score)
- Utilizing an individually developed composition technique based on text prompts and letters, Wisconsin based musician, composer, improviser and multimedia experimental artist Barry Paul Clark (member of Field Report, Tontine Ensemble, Cathedral Becomes Tomb) has prepared a score to accompany Robert Wiene’s 1920 historic silent film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” The score not only utilizes the contemporary composition technique, but calls for extensive use of improvisation, and in doing so, Barry has curated an ensemble of some of southeastern Wisconsin’s finest and most celebrated experimental/improvising musicians.
December 8th | 5pm: 7 NIGHTS IN THE ENTRY
- For a week in September of 1981 Twin:Tone Records took over this recently started small stage at First Avenue, back before it was legendary, and did a show that helped start the legend. This film was only shown once before, for sound Unseen '07 and likely not to be screened again for 20 years, so this a rare chance to see it in movie theater gloriousness. This film captures bands like the Replacements and Hüsker Dü in their beginnings. A rare chance to relive being in the room when it was dirty and dangerous. The film also captures groups like Things That Fall Down, and the Hypstrz, that never found commercial success but had a massive impact on bands that did. Dir. Twin/Tone Records, 70min, 2007, USA