If you are looking for a great film to see this weekend, consider Lucio and steep yourself in a fascinating modern political story that is unknown to many. Lucio Urtubia is a humble man of modest means who supported himself through the hard work of bricklaying. Did I mention that he is suspected to be at the center of a massive counterfeiting ring that appeared to exist primarily to fund anarchist political movements all over the world? A few years and tens of millions of dollars later, Citibank came to the bargaining table to get him to stop. He did 6 months in prison and sealed his reputation as the Robin Hood of Anarchism.

Did I mention he is alive and well and living in Paris, where he runs a radical bookstore? Capitalism may be trying to eat Che, but I doubt they will be able to swallow Lucio anytime soon. Viva Lucio!  Viva La Revolución!

There is plenty of hustling going on at your average film festival, but this was something different. Guerilla marketing hit SILVERDOCS yesterday when the woman in the photograph showed up to promote Jon Hotchkiss’ latest project, Obscene Movie. If you are fans of Penn & Teller or “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher” (where he was one of the original writers), you probably recognize his name. Hotchkiss wasn’t present, but the promotional attempt seemed to get a less than warm reception at the Cinema Lounge, where the manager politely asked them to leave (and they politely complied).

It definitely got people’s attention. People were asking if she was a real sex worker or a porn star, but I asked the first question that came to my mind–how do you walk in those crazy shoes? Apparently it helps if you take small steps.

OK, in the interest of full disclosure let me state categorically: I think banjo genius Béla Fleck is the tops.¹ That said, my mind still would have been blown by Throw Down Your Heart even if it wasn’t Bela Fleck.²

Filmmaker Sascha Paladino has created a delight of a film as he joins his brother Fleck on a trip to Africa to explore the roots of the banjo.³ Their multi-country trip brings Fleck together with many talented musicians and remarkable collaborations result. The energy of the musicians is infectious, the music joyous to behold, and Paladino gives you the experience of being right in the mix.

Following the screening, the audience got an opportunity to hear Fleck play, joined by Cheick Hamala Diabaté, a terrific n’goni player and star in his own right (see photo below). For the second night in a row, SILVERDOCS hits it out of the park.⁴

1. I’m not exaggerating. I had the guy sign my mandolin today. How pathetically fanboy is that?
2. That it is Béla Fleck? Awesome! See footnote one re: my pathetic-ness.
3. I had a chance to hear the two speak at length earlier in the day about the process of making the film, and hopefully I will get a chance to write up those comments soon.
4. Look! A sports analogy! How did that happen? Answer: it’s a baseball analogy. Even I know from baseball.

Am excitedly waiting to go see Stages, a film made by Meerkat Media, a collaborative, non-hierarchical media collective. Am hoping to catch up with one or more of the filmmakers for an interview about their process.

UPDATE: I had to leave after about 45 minutes due to a scheduling conflict, but was really impressed by what I saw and I look forward to seeing the final version. Not only was the rough cut remarkably coherent (remember, collaborative collective!), but it was quite moving. In addition, the energy and passion of the filmmakers themselves is enough to get me to go see everything they do. I am filled with regret that I wasn’t there for the discussion following the screening.

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.