Posts from — June 2008

I’ve been having problems accessing the wifi at the festival, so not much posting to date. Working on it.

The festival kicked off last night with a brilliant film by Adrian Wills chronicling the development of an equally brilliant show by Cirque Du Soleil. All Together Now follows Cirque’s development of a show, LOVE, based on and inspired by the music of The Beatles. LOVE’s director, Dominic Champagne, is not only charged with getting this show to the stage, but must also satisfy Paul, Ringo, and the widows of John and George¹.

The drama of All Together Now is rooted in the difficult development and staging of LOVE, but also the interpersonal and creative tension arising from any collaboration that involves the Beatles’ music. Fortunately, Dominic has musical intermediary support by George Martin and his son Giles, who have been jointly charged by Cirque and The Beatles with developing and producing the music for the show while protecting The Beatles’ musical integrity.

While Paul and Ringo seem quite open to letting Cirque have its lead, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison have the tougher task of protecting and interpreting the work of their husbands. The independent and plain-spoken Yoko perhaps has the most obvious criticism of the process in the film, but when Cirque starts to deliver on their own vision, the results are visually and emotionally stunning, to everyone’s apparent satisfaction.

What came through strongly in this film is the playful, joyous and intense creativity of the Cirque company and its directors, and how closely that process resembles the early process of The Beatles. Coupling the backstage peek at Cirque with the appearances of Paul, Ringo, the Martins, Olivia and Yoko, the film pulls on the viewer at many levels and delivers on all its promises.

Following the screening, an all-star panel of the film’s director, Adrian Wills, LOVE’s director Dominic Champagne, Apple Corps’ Jonathan Clyde and MTV’s Bill Flanagan spent a few minutes discussing the process of making the film, the show and the impact of seeing Paul McCartney declare his own amazement at having been a Beatle. Dominic reassured the audience that while it seemed like Yoko and Olivia made it difficult for him, he actually felt very supported in the process and that he didn’t feel as if he had any constraints. This was echoed by Jonathan Clyde, speaking for Apple Corps, who have historically been ferocious and inflexible in protecting The Beatles’ musical legacy and have rarely shown willingness to cede any creative control, but were quite open in this particular case. All parties seemed to feel quite moved by George Harrison’s desire to see this collaboration succeed. In addition, Clyde spoke quite eloquently about Neil Aspinall, close friend of The Beatles and Apple Corps guru, who died only a few months ago.

Warning: once you see this film, you may feel compelled to fly to Vegas and see LOVE in person. brentgarland.com is not responsible for your plane fares, nor your losses at the gaming tables.

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As always, the disclaimer applies: This is a festival to which I have a substantial connection. I have volunteered for the past two years and sat on this year’s Selection Committee. I wrote for the festival catalog and will likely be introducing some of the filmmakers and subjects at the festival. Feel free to adjust for my bias. My blog reportage and opinions, however, do not represent the views of AFI or the SILVERDOCS festival, the Selection Committee, or of any of their staff. No one should construe anything expressed on this site as being endorsed or supported by AFI, SILVERDOCS or anybody other than me.

1. Harrison was the spark for the creation of this show, but did not live to see its beautiful fruition.

Just checked in at SILVERDOCS a little while ago. While the staff and volunteers are all working diligently, there is some electricity in the air–the flood of people will soon arrive.

Hmm. Maybe that electricity in the air wasn’t merely anticipation. We are currently being pounded by a thunderstorm. It came on fast, so hopefully it will pass through quickly.

When the revolution comes, Brothers and Sisters, the first bastards up against the wall will be those in a Che Guevara t-shirt!

And judging from Chevolution, that will be one long line of people.

Alberto Korda‘s photos of Che (and perhaps even more widely known, the stencil/pop art images of Che by artist Jim Fitzpatrick ) are among the most memorable and ubiquitous images of the twentieth century. Chevolution gives us a look at who Che was, what he means to different people, and the complicated history of the use of Korda’s images by artists, activists, politics, and commerce. Even if you are familiar with the life of Che, the story of his image (and the questions the film asks about the meaning of its use) will give you plenty to think about.

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As always, the disclaimer applies: This is a festival to which I have a substantial connection. I have volunteered for the past two years and sat on this year’s Selection Committee. I wrote for the festival catalog and will likely be introducing some of the filmmakers and subjects at the festival. Feel free to adjust for my bias. My blog reportage and opinions, however, do not represent the views of AFI or the SILVERDOCS festival, the Selection Committee, or of any of their staff. No one should construe anything expressed on this site as being endorsed or supported by AFI, SILVERDOCS or anybody other than me.

Werner Herzog brings his unique perspective–and his cameras–to one of the most isolated places on earth, the McMurdo station, Antartica. From the unusual characters who choose to live at the South Pole to the miraculous life in the ocean under the ice (hence the title), Herzog pursues his own idiosyncratic interests in Encounters at the End of the World.

Herzog’s questions lead to cinematic meditations on human extinction, on community and isolation, and on the wonders of the natural world–all with images that amaze, amuse, and inform. Simply stunning, this film is work from a master filmmaker and was a privilege to watch.

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As always, the disclaimer applies: This is a festival to which I have a substantial connection. I have volunteered for the past two years and sat on this year’s Selection Committee. I wrote for the festival catalog and will likely be introducing some of the filmmakers and subjects at the festival. Feel free to adjust for my bias. My blog reportage and opinions, however, do not represent the views of AFI or the SILVERDOCS festival, the Selection Committee, or of any of their staff. No one should construe anything expressed on this site as being endorsed or supported by AFI, SILVERDOCS or anybody other than me.