The 12th annual
Doc'n Roll Film Festival takes place this year from Thursday 23rd October through until Sunday 9th November. Doc'n Roll is a women-led film agency that platforms and champions marginal voices in the music industry - we are passionate about independent film and music of all genres. Our mission is to celebrate music subcultures by providing a unique platform to support creative, compelling and unforgettable documentaries that celebrate the performers, labels, scenes and stories. Doc'n Roll began life in 2013, when we launched the UK's Music & Arts Documentary Film Festival as an arts discovery film fest, convinced it was time to show some love to outlier music, arts and subculture documentaries that were all too often ignored by risk-averse film programmers. Now some 10+ years on, via our now UK-wide annual festival, one-off events and special screenings, we provide our audience with the opportunity to watch these killer documentaries in ace cinemas, as they were designed to be watched : LOUD. Doc'n Roll programmes encore event screenings and special one-off premieres year-round in the UK. Additionally, Doc'n Roll screens in Dublin, Amsterdam, New York City, San Francisco and Dubai. The 12th edition of Doc'n Roll Film Festival UK & Ireland, our headline festival, runs across ten of the city's best-loved cinemas. It will open at Barbican Cinemas and close at BFI Southbank, with additional screenings in Dublin and Brighton . . . . so reads the official website.
The feature films being showcased at this years Doc'n Roll Film Festival are as follows :-
* 'Butthole Surfers : The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt' - from the USA and Directed by Tom Stern. The film traces how two accounting students from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, found solidarity in their shared strangeness, gathered a tribe of like-minded outsiders - queers, weirdos, and nonconformists, including the unforgettable naked performance artist/dancer Kathleen Lynch - and launched one of the most radical and unpredictable paths in rock history. UK Premiere.
* 'A Way To Die : The Short-Films of COIL' - from France and Directed by Xavier Laradji and Maxime Lachaud. After paying tribute to and introducing the photographic and pictorial work of Peter Christopherson (1955-2010) and John Balance (1962-2004) to a larger audience, founding members of the cult formation COIL, Timeless editions have had the duo’s filmed archives restored, from their early films in adolescence in the early 1970's to the more accomplished works of the 1980's/90's, uncovering a first-rate cinematic body of work. UK Premiere.
* 'I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol' - from the USA and Directed by Nick Mead and Andre Relis. A compelling filmic setting for the wry, honest and often hilarious firsthand stories of Glen Matlock, the founding member of the Sex Pistols who co-wrote ten of the twelve iconic songs on their only studio album, 'Never Mind the Bollocks', only to have his contributions later downplayed. Hear his account of the Pistols’ rise in a frank, insightful portrait of a group of malcontents determined to change the music business and attack society’s hypocrisy and stale conventions. UK Premiere.
* 'Big Mama Thornton : I Can't Be Anyone But Me' - from the USA and Directed by Robert Clem. Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton was a major figure in American popular music for forty years. From a rural Alabama background, she defied gender norms, wore jeans, a cowboy hat and boots, stood over six feet tall and weighed as much as 300 pounds. Mike Stoller tells us it was her demeanor - and the two scars on her forehead - that inspired him and Jerry Lieber to write 'Hound Dog' expressly for her. After Hound Dog became a #1 R&B hit in 1952, she won acclaim in Europe as part of the American Folk Blue Festival. She was a major part of the US blues revival in the late 60's and 70's with her unique style of performing, her humour and her rawness were a hit at festivals and clubs all over America and in Europe. UK Premiere.
* 'Para Vivir : The Implacable Times of Pablo Milanes' - from Mexico, Spain and the USA and Directed by Fabien Pisani. A deeply personal portrait of Cuban music icon Pablo Milanes, captured in self-imposed exile during his final years. Milanes, co-founder of the Nueva Trova movement with Silvio Rodriguez, was a major voice in Cuba's revolutionary cultural movement. This film combines interviews with musical luminaries such as Serrat, Chico Buarque, Harry Belafonte and Fito Paez, alongside intimate moments of Milanes in his final years, looking frail and reflecting on the fading Cuban Utopia.
* 'Sound of a Dream : Lee Burridge' - from the USA and Directed by Hoj Jomehri. This intimate portrait follows underground DJ Lee Burridge, whose lifelong goal has been to bring people together through music. Blending cinematic storytelling, rare archival footage and access to Burridge’s inner world, the film traces a 40-year journey from a small seaside village in Dorset to some of the world’s most iconic stages, from Fabric London to Burning Man and Coachella. Burridge’s story is one of persistence and passion, and also impermanence. World Premiere.
* 'In Time : Donal Lunny' - from Ireland and Directed by Nuala O'Connor. Donal Lunny is one of Ireland’s most outstanding artists, and this is the first film account of his life - a portrait that reveals his peerless contribution to Irish culture and music. A founding member of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, Lunny played a central role in reviving and transforming Irish traditional and folk music for new generations. International Premiere.
* 'Felix Dare to Dream' - from Italy and Directed by Valerio Bariletti and Morgan Bertacca. The story of Felix Leu is one of defiance, creativity, and the search for freedom. A fascinating story of an existential journey - that of Felix Leu, artist, pioneer of modern tattooing, and patriarch of one of the most iconic and respected families on the international scene - the Leu Family, a bohemian clan that turned freedom and creativity into their way of life. UK Premiere.
* 'Nash the Slash Rises Again' - from Canada and Directed by Tim Kowalski. In the late 1970s, Nash the Slash emerged as one of music’s true enigmas, an electric violinist and sonic alchemist blending classical finesse with punk rebellion. From scoring Un Chien Andalou live to mesmerising audiences with his analog arsenal, Nash pushed the boundaries of performance and sound. His singular vision drew him to the UK, signing with Richard Branson’s DinDisc alongside Gary Numan, yet his refusal to compromise collided with the industry’s demands. Returning to Toronto, he embarked on wild adventures with Iggy Pop and forged a path beyond rock, composing for films, installations, and silent cinema. World Premiere.
* 'The Big Johnson' - from the USA and Directed by Lola Rocknrolla. Dean Johnson was a famous New York drag queen, rock star, sex party promoter and late in life escort. In 2007 Dean went on a job and never came back. Was it just an accidental OD, Dean had a history of drug use or was it something more sinister? Another escort died in the same apartment four days earlier. The mystery of his death is only part of Dean Johnson's wild life. Dean was the first in many things, the first bald drag queen, the first to throw sex parties in the 80's during the AIDS crisis, the first openly gay singer on Island records (which cost him his record deal). The first and only person to throw a LGBTQ party at the iconic rock club CBGBs. International Premiere.
* 'Monk in Pieces' - from the USA, Germany and France and Directed by Billy Shebar and David C. Roberts. Meredith Monk - composer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist – is one of the great artistic pioneers of our time, yet her profound cultural influence is largely unrecognised. With Monk’s music at its centre, and featuring interviews with Bjork and David Byrne, Monk in Pieces is a mosaic that mirrors the structure of Monk’s own work, and illuminates her wildly original vocabulary of sound and imagery. UK Premiere.
* 'Tony Foster : Painting at the Edge' - from the USA and Directed by David C. Schendel. Award-winning visual artist Tony Foster has spent nine of the past thirty-five years living in a tadpole tent, using his art as a platform to advocate for the conservation of wild land and raise awareness of climate change. Part explorer, part artist, he routinely risks his life to find the perfect undiscovered landscape. He does not use photography or sketches but paints on site, often in the most difficult weather and uncomfortable circumstances. World Premiere.
* 'Chasing Rainbows : My Visual Duet with Jimmy Scott' - from the USA and Directed by Storm Di Scozia. A 30-years in the making duet between a legendary American jazz singer (Jimmy Scott) and a Scottish rock singer (Storm Di Scozia) in 2014, setting in motion an incredible adventure that will shed light on the extraordinary career and life of Cleveland's most beloved singer, Jimmy Scott, and his biggest fan, Scottish rock singer Storm Di Scozia. UK Premiere.
* 'A Beautiful Place - Lebanon Hanover' - from the Netherlands and Directed by Isolde Woudstra. Taking us on an intimate journey with darkwave icons Lebanon Hanover during their 2024 tour. As the enigmatic duo, William Maybelline and Larissa Iceglass, traverse Europe playing electrifying shows in Bristol, London, Paris, and Berlin, the film unveils the raw emotion behind their haunting sound while exploring the deep, symbiotic bond between the band and their devoted fans, capturing the essence of melancholy, passion, and connection. UK Premiere.
* 'Pieces of Heaven : Porridge Radio' - from the UK and Directed by Ella Margolin. Filmed at the Centre Pompidou in 2024 to mark the release of the band’s final album, 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me'. Led by songwriter Dana Margolin, it moves through inertia, heartbreak and dysphoria as she distils over a decade of music into one unforgettable hour. World Premiere.
* 'Boy George & Culture Club' - from the USA and the UK and Directed by Alison Ellwood. A provocative, chaotic and impossibly fun look at one of music’s most groundbreaking bands. An intimate portrait of Culture Club’s rise to fame, dramatic split, and remarkable reunion for the film. For the first time, Boy George, Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss come together to share their story, offering candid insights into their creative process and personal relationships, and the band’s towering cultural impact. UK Premiere.
* 'Move Ya Body : The Birth of House' - from the USA and Directed by Elegance Bratton. A celebration of the new sound that emerged from the underground clubs of Chicago’s South Side, which sparked a global movement of joy, freedom and radical togetherness. Young Chicagoan Vince Lawrence embarked on a journey that would change music history. From his father’s record store to the underground clubs of the South Side, Vince and a group of visionary friends experimented with drum machines and synthesisers, crafting a revolutionary new sound - house music.
* 'Scab Vendor : The Life and Times of Jonathan Shaw' - from the USA and Directed by Mariana Thome and Lucas Barros. Scab Vendor is a documentary exploring the extraordinary life of Jonathan Shaw whose youth was marked by rebellion against his glamorous lineage and his mother’s alcoholism. After a near-fatal heroin overdose in his 20's, Shaw embarked on a transformative journey by hitchhiking from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro, honing his craft under legendary old-school tattoo masters, and ultimately redefining tattoo culture. UK Premiere.
* 'Rockers Don't Stop : The Revival of Rockers Revenge' - from the USA and Directed by Arthur Baker. A comeback story with grit and groove. New York's 1980's Dance pioneers Rockers Revenge reunite decades later to finally record their debut album, transforming nostalgia into a powerful journey of friendship, resilience, and unfinished dreams. From the front lines of New York’s COVID crisis to the pulse of Black Lives Matter, their music channels loss, hope, and defiance. World Premiere.
* 'How Tanita Tikaram Became a Liar' - from the UK and Directed by Natacha Horn. Revealing the maverick music icon as never before, Tikaram delivers, in her own words, a raw, political, and personal account of life as a brown, queer woman growing up in the UK - echoing the themes of her new album LIAR (Love Isn’t A Right), the sequel to her multi-million selling debut Ancient Heart. World Premiere.
For the details of the Short Film also being screened, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.docnrollfestival.com
Turning the focus back on this weeks six hot new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we launch with a gothic Sci-Fi film based on a classic early 19th Century novel that has been made into countless movies over the last almost one hundred years and surrounds a brilliant albeit self obsessed scientist who creates a living breathing monster that ultimately leads to the undoing of both of them. Next up is a biographical musical drama charting the early years of this New Jersey Rocker while crafting his 1982 album 'Nebraska', which emerged as he recorded 'Born in the USA' with the E Street Band. Then we turn to a drama set in the 1970's in a sedate corner of Massachusetts, an unemployed carpenter turned amateur art thief plans his first big heist, but when things go haywire, his life unravels. This is followed by a psychological black comedy about two men who lost their respective twin brothers develop a growing friendship after meeting in a support group. Up next is a drama offering from a first time Director about an octogenarian woman who transitions to life in assisted living as she contends with her conflicting relationship to herself and her caregivers; before closing out the week with a romantic drama film that centres on the strained relationship between a young mother and her teenage daughter, exacerbated by the mothers husbands tragic death.
Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.
'FRANKENSTEIN' (Rated MA15+) - is an American gothic Sci-Fi film that is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Guillermo del Toro and is based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel of the same name. del Toro's previous feature film output includes his feature film debut in 1992 with
'Cronos' and then the likes of
'Mimic' in 1997,
'The Devil's Backbone' in 2001,
'Hellboy' in 2004,
'Pan's Labyrinth' in 2006,
'Hellboy II : The Golden Army' in 2008,
'Crimson Peak' in 2015,
'The Shape of Water' in 2017,
'Nightmare Alley' in 2021 and
'Pinocchio' in 2022. This film had its World Premiere in the main competition at this years Venice International Film Festival in early September, is followed by a limited cinema release from 17th October and a global release on Netflix on 7th November.
A brilliant but egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. Also starring Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz, Charles Dance, Lauren Collins, Ralph Ineson and Burn Gorman. The film has generated largely favourable critical reviews, and cost US$120M to produce.
'SPRINGSTEEN : DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE' (Rated M) - this American biographical musical drama film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Cooper who made his Directorial debut with the critically acclaimed
'Crazy Heart' in 2009 and would go on to Direct
'Out of the Furnace' in 2013,
'Black Mass' in 2015,
'Hostiles' in 2017,
'Antlers' in 2021 and
'The Pale Blue Eye' in 2022. This film is based on the 2023 book
'Deliver Me from Nowhere' by Warren Zanes. This film chronicles the making of Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album
'Nebraska' when he was a young musician (Jeremy Allen White) on the cusp of global superstardom, struggling to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past. Recorded on a 4-track recorder in Springsteen's New Jersey bedroom, the album marked a pivotal time in his life and is considered one of his most enduring works, servings as a stark, somber acoustic record portraying the lives of blue-collar workers who try to succeed in life but fail at every turn, while searching for a deliverance that never comes. Also starring Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, Gaby Hoffman and Marc Maron. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August with its US and Australian release this week. It has received positive reviews from critics.
'THE MASTERMIND' (Rated M) - is a US and UK Co-Production that is Written, Directed and Edited by Kelly Reichardt who made her feature film Directorial debut with
'River of Grass' in 1994 and went on to Direct the likes of
'Old Joy' in 2006,
'Meek's Cutoff' in 2010,
'Night Moves' in 2013,
'Certain Women' in 2016,
'First Cow' in 2019 and
'Showing Up' in 2022. In a sedate Massachusetts suburb circa 1970, unemployed family man, carpenter and amateur art thief James Blaine Mooney (Josh O'Connor) sets out on his first heist. With the museum cased and accomplices recruited, he has an airtight plan to steal four paintings. Or so he thinks. When holding onto the art proves more difficult than stealing them, Mooney is relegated to a life on the run. Also starring Alana Haim, Hope Davis, Bill Camp, John Magaro and Gaby Hoffman. The film had its World Premiere at the main competition of this years Cannes Film Festival in late May, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. It was released Stateside last week, has received generally positive critical reviews, and has so far grossed US$104K.
'TWINLESS' (Rated MA15+) - this American psychological black comedy film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and stars James Sweeney in only his second feature film outing following 2019's
'Straight Up'. Here, two young men meet in a support group for twinless twins and form an unlikely friendship. Roman (Dylan O'Brien) and Dennis (James Sweeney) both search for solace and an identity without their other halves and soon become inseparable outside the group. But when Roman meets Dennis' ebullient co-worker, Marcie (Aisling Franciosi), all is revealed to be not what it seems, as each man harbours secrets that could unravel everything. The film saw its World Premiere in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in late January this year where it won the Audience Award, went on release Stateside in early September, has so far grossed US$1.3M and has garnered generally positive critical reviews.
'FAMILIAR TOUCH' (Rated M) - is an American drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Sarah Friedland in her feature film making debut. The film follows an octogenarian woman Ruth Goldman (Kathleen Chalfant) as she transitions to life in an assisted living facility contending with her relationship to herself and her caregivers while dealing with cognitive decline. It had its World Premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in early September 2024 in the Horizons section, where Director Sarah Friedland won the Luigi de Laurentiis Lion of the Future prize for best first film, alongside the Best Director award, while Kathleen Chalfant won the Best Actress award. It was released in the US in mid-June this year, has so far grossed US$258K and has garnered universal critical acclaim.
'REGRETTING YOU' (Rated M) - this romantic drama film is Directed by Josh Boone in his fourth feature film making effort following his debut in 2012 with
'Stuck in Love', then
'The Fault in Our Stars' in 2014, and
'The New Mutants' in 2020. This film is based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover. Here, Morgan Grant (Allison Williams) and her daughter Clara (Mckenna Grace) whose relationship is already strained, are forced to explore what's left behind after a devastating accident resulting in the tragic death of Morgan's husband Chris (Scott Eastwood), reveals a shocking betrayal and forces them to confront family secrets, redefine love, and rediscover each other. Also starring Dave Franco, Mason Thames, Willa Fitzgerald and Clancy Brown. The film is released in the US this week too.
With six new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
