A gift for one of my Boston-based readers, courtesy of the now-officially-underway Independent Film Festival and Warner Bros. Records' new all-vinyl online record store, Because Sound Matters.

This Sunday evening, the IFFB will be hosting the New England premiere of the Stephin Merritt / Magnetic Fields documentary "Strange Powers" at the Brattle, and not only do I have a pair of screening tickets to hand out, but I've got an accompanying slab of twelve-inch wax to sweeten the deal: A pressing of the band's latest album, "Realism", on vinyl, with an accompanying compact disc inside for easy transport.

So, if you were thinking this whole (very much welcomed) vinyl resurgence thing was a passing phase, well, the WB opening BecauseSoundMatters.com might just put those doubts to rest. The mega-corp has done more than dip a toe in the pond, they dove in and started a site solely devoted to black platters, offering up exclusives, pre-orders, and yes, even apparel. In a time when the big boys are cutting back, the Warners have put some money and promo muscle behind vinyl, and that's saying something. If you know me, and this site, then you know I'm not one for banner ads. But allow me to give out free Magnetic Fields vinyl to someone? Well, ok, ya got me.

Live near Boston? Want to see that screening for free with a friend? Want that MF vinyl? If the word "Yes" just popped into your head three times in a row, then here's what you need to do: Send an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com titled "Yeah! Oh, Yeah!" before Noon sharp this Saturday, April 24th. That's when I'll pick a random winner, get their mailing address, and put their name on a couple passes to the 7:30pm screening of "Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields" at Harvard Square's wonderful Brattle Theatre. Just make sure you're free that night before you enter so the tix don't go to waste. Given the band's Boston roots, it'll likely sell out.

Have a look at the film's official site, and the trailer.

Labels: giveaways, iffb

posted by brad at 12:26 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

In just a number of hours, the 8th annual Independent Film Festival of Boston kicks off with an opening night at the Somerville Theatre, then spreads to a few other area cinemas for a week-long celebration of all that is good about goin' to the movies. Lovingly (and tirelessly) curated by an all-volunteer staff, it ranks very high among the reasons I love this town, and I haven't missed a single IFFB yet.

In years past, I've done run-downs spotlighting a film or two that I'm looking forward to during each day of the fest, but this year I'm going to switch that up a little bit. The reason? Well, the music. There's lots of strong music-related content this year, so I'm going to hit that list and close out with a few other films I'm looking forward to...


Since their second edition in 2004, the IFFB has always made sure that music documentaries are a component of the fest, and each year usually brings at least one that's directly up my alley - In 2004 we had "Dig!", 2005 brought "Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley", 2006 gave us the one two locally-flavored punch of Pixies doc "loudQUIETloud" and Mission of Burma's "Not A Photograph", 2007 delivered "Silver Jew", then "Joy Division" in 2008, and most recently, "I Need That Record!" and the locally-made "Speaking In Code" last year. That's not even a complete list of all the music-related films they've shown (and that I've been compelled to see).

Well, this year up's the ante: A documentary focusing on my favorite songwriter of all time? Oh yes. How about a film centered on a Boston-connected curmudgeon (and his band), hailed as one of the best contemporary songsmiths working? Roger that. Want to learn more about the only British rock-band-frontman with a style of facial hair named after him? Yeah, they've got that. The struggle of a Boston-based writer during his attempt to reunite a seminal UK band, with the input of a half-dozen other famous fans? Uh-huh. Throw in a look inside the origins of the Muslim punk scene, and you've got yourself one seriously varied music-doc itinerary. Hell, this list could comprise a mini-fest on its own...

Searching For Elliott Smith
(Official Site / IMDB)

Screening on Monday, April 26th at 7pm at the Somerville Theatre
Director Gil Reyes in attendance

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I'm terribly non-committal (i.e. wishy washy) when it comes to picking favorites. But my favorite songwriter? Yeah, it's Elliott. His death hit me like no other, had a far greater effect on me than the loss of any other cultural figure. He's probably had the most direct impact on my life than any other person I've never met. So to say that I'm looking forward to this particular film is a bit of an understatement.

Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields
(Official Site / IMDB)

Screening on Sunday, April 25th at 7:30pm at the Brattle Theatre
Magnetic Fields member/manager Claudia Gonson in attendance (I think)
(and if I had to wager, other MF'ers will be there, too)

By all accounts (and recorded evidence), Stephen Merritt is a prickly fellow. Cantankerous, droll, crabby - consult your thesaurus, and yeah, he's probably been called that. But as far as I'm concerned, he's earned that right, what with all the irresistibly catchy tunes he's crafted with his various projects - The Gothic Archies, Future Bible Heroes, alongside Lemony Snicket - but most prominently with his mates in The Magnetic Fields. Able to dip his toe in whatever style he damn well pleases, he's a modern master, and in concert his generally dour manner comes across as divine comedy when combined with his longstanding foil, singer/keyboard player Claudia Gonson. I think she'll be at this screening for a Q&A or intro or something (songs, maybe? we can hope.), and given the band's strong Boston ties, I picture a crowd filled with friends and bandmates (both former and current).

Lemmy
(Official Site / IMDB)

Screening on Friday, April 23rd at 10pm the Somerville Theatre
Director Wes Orshosk in attendance

Ian Fraser Kilmister. His facial hair is as legendary as his playing in Motorhead. I mean, do any other festival-related celebs rate their own action figure? I think not. (oh, if only they'd made Deadwood figs). The biggest surprise about this documentary is that one didn't already exist. If you love Lemmy, if you've ever rocked out to "Ace Of Spades", how can you miss this?

(That said... I'll be missing it, but only because it's up against the Bill Hicks documentary. Tough one, that.)

Do It Again
(Official Site / IMDB)

Screening on Saturday, April 24th at 8pm at the Somerville Theatre
Director Robert Patton Spruill, subject/producer Geoff Edgers, and former
Del Fuegos member Warren Zanes (who is featured in the film) in attendance

(I wrote the synopsis for this one in the IFFB's program guide, so I'll paste some of that here)

Every real music fan has a favorite band - but it's a very rare fan who single-handedly attempts to reunite them years after they've packed it in. In director Robert Patton Spruill's documentary, that rare fan is Geoff Edgers, a Boston Globe staff writer and dedicated follower of the Kinks. Edgers was driven to embark on a risky and time-consuming quest to get the Davies brothers and their old bandmates back in the same room to play some songs. He enlists some pretty impressive Kinks fans for moral (and musical) support, including Robyn Hitchcock, Sting, Paul Weller, Peter Buck, and Zooey Deschannel (and if you think it was impossible for Zooey to appear even more endearing than she already seems to be, well, think again).

Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam
(Official Site / IMDB)

Screening on Thursday, April 22nd at 7:15 at the Somerville Theatre
Director Omar Majeed in attendance

Chronicles the highly unusual, and relatively recent, genesis of the Muslim American punk scene. Most musical movements eventually get documented in various books, but this one flips that convention on its head - Michael Mohammed Knight's 2003 novel, "The Taqwacores" came first, and the scene soon followed.

And another film that, while not a documentary, deserves a mention in an IFFB 2010 music post...

Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee
(Trailer / IMDB)

Screening on Thursday, April 22nd at 10pm at the Somerville Theatre

A mockumentary chronicling the rise of an obscure UK rapper and his manager who enlist the help of, believe it or not, the Arctic Monkeys.

And, lastly, I'll bullet-point a few non-musical highlights of my personal festival schedule...

The opening night film, which starts in just a couple hours, is Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini's "The Extra Man", starring Kevin Kline and Paul Dano (from "Little Miss Sunshine" and "There Will Be Blood"). Kline will be there in person, and is being honored with the IFFBoston 2010 Career Achievement Award. And don't ask him to do Otto from A Fish Called Wanda... he's gotta be sick of that by now.

The one and only John Hawkes, an actor I've loved even before he embodied the wonderful Sol Star in Deadwood, is coming to town to attend the Friday night screening of Winter's Bone. You might also know him from former IFFB selection "Me and You and Everyone We Know", or even from the current season of "Lost". Can't wait to see him in person, and I'll be wearing my "Star & Bullock Hardware" t-shirt with pride.

Even though she was just here a couple weeks ago to attend the Boston Comic-Con, actor/director Amber Benson (aka Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is returning to attend the screening of her new film "Drones" (which was co-directed by Adam Busch, aka Warren, aka the guy who killed Tara). The film stars another familiar Buffyverse face, Jonathan M. Woodward (who has appeared in no less than three Whedon shows), as well as Mr. James Urbaniak, who himself attended the IFFB a few years back.

Director Todd Solondz is coming to show his latest work, "Life During Wartime". The film has a conceit that sounds very Solondz-ish: He brings back characters from his previous films and casts them with different actors. Should be interesting, at the very least.

I mentioned above that I'm skipping "Lemmy" to catch "American: The Bill Hicks Story". Fellow fans of Hicks' comedy, which was more biting social commentary than funny ha-ha, know why I had to make this choice.

Going to try and catch one or two of the Short Film packages this year, but the one I'm most looking forward to is the animation block. Check that out.

Another short film that intrigues me? "Athena". Why? Well, Harry Dean Stanton and David Thewlis, that's why.

Last I heard, there's a slim chance that James Franco will show up for the closing night film, a screening of his behind-the-scenes SNL documentary, "Saturday Night". Even if he's not there, that's pretty much a can't miss flick for me.

Keep up with the IFFB this week on both Twitter and Facebook. I would recommend that you buy a full festival pass, but they're already sold out, so make sure you buy your individual tickets in advance, so you don't get shut out.

Alright, time to head over to the Davis Square and pick up my pass. I'll update some hyperlinks as soon as I get a chance. See ya at the Somerville...

Labels: iffb

posted by brad at 5:39 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Cinema-loving ladies and gents, the 2009 Independent Film Festival of Boston is upon us. Without fail, I start to get excited about this sucker from the moment the dates are announced, moreso as the full lineup is unveiled, and I don't lose that feeling until the final frames of the closing-night film. From this coming Wednesday evening, April 22nd, through Tuesday night the 28th, I'll forego the rock shows and switch into all-movie mode, and I absolutely cannot wait.

Each year the IFFB seems to get a little bit better, in a variety of ways (from the schedule to the guest list to the web site), and it's no different this time around. For this, the seventh edition, they've added the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston as a new venue, and if you check out the interactive schedule, you'll notice a vast improvement in its features. Filters, sorting, pop-ups for film info and theater locations - everything is easy to find, and being able to print out your own customized schedule is hugely appreciated. Head on over and check it out.

For past fests I've done both a highlights post and a full film list here on the 'Nac, with official site links and trailers - sometimes before the IFFB site was ready - as a way to make myself research every film and ensure I didn't miss out on anything. This year, though, their spiffy online schedule has made it so easy that my own link-gathering was a little redundant. Instead, I'm just sticking with my own anticipated highlights. So here's a list of the films that jump out at me, a few for each day of the fest, which includes (of course) some music-related movies alongside those with intriguing premises from notable creators.

Before I get to that, some things you should know...

One of the best parts of the fest is when actors and creators appear along with their work, and there are some excellent actors coming to town this year. One of my all-time faves, Mr. Brian Cox, will be here for a screening of "The Escapist" (details on that are below). Also appearing at screenings this year will be Kevin Corrigan (fresh off having a major impact on the Damages season finale), returning guest Chris Cooper (a fave since "Lone Star"), Hal Holbrook (!), Barry Corbin, Bobcat Goldthwait (as a director), Bobby & Peter Farrelly, and Red Sox pitching great Luis "El Tiante" Tiant.

Some of the best films I've caught at past IFFB's are due to recommendations from Program Director Adam Roffman, who usually points out a couple "don't miss" flicks that I might otherwise overlook. This year, he's taking his recommendations to the IFFB Blog, so keep an eye out there. His first pick, "Birdwatchers", wasn't even on my radar until reading his words, and it's now going on my own schedule. His second and third selections are now up as well.

While I attempt to tackle the narrative and documentary features below, time prohibits me from digging into the short film selections. So make sure you check out this easy link to all six of the Short Film Programs that are offered throughout the week, and dive into all of their deets. The packaged short categories are: Animation, Documentaries, Comedy, Twisted, Global, and Dramatic. There's also a program for Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts on Saturday afternoon.

Check out the two panel discussions, as well: "Discussing the Documentary" and "Followers: How Filmmakers are Building Their Audiences Online in the 21st Century".

Links to this years participating theaters: The Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Somerville; The Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge; The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline; The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston on the waterfront.

Check out the IFFB '09 Facebook Event page, follow them on Twitter, sign up for their mailing list, or befriend them on MySpace.

Buy tickets to individual screenings here, or full festival passes here.

And now, my personal picks for the 2009 IFFBoston. It was not easy to trim this down, believe me, so be sure to go over the full schedule with a fine-tooth comb on your own so you don't miss something I happen to skip here...

Labels: iffb

posted by brad at 12:37 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |