Past EventSound Unseen: RochesterFrom: Friday, November 17, 2023 at 12:00 AM • To: Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 12:00 AM
The SOUND UNSEEN Film + Music Festival makes its debut in Rochester November 17–19 with a collection of six music based films at Pop’s Art Theater! For 24 years, Sound Unseen has been presenting films-on-music in Minneapolis, and hosts a festival in Austin, TX. Highlights of the Rochester edition of SOUND UNSEEN include MEETING CHARLIE PARR, new documentaries about Karen Carpenter, Pavement, and Fugazi, a 45th anniversary screening of SKATEBOARD, and a surprise closing night film that will be announced October 29.
“Being able to finally bring the Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival to Rochester is a long time coming and we couldn’t be happier to have this opportunity.” said Sound Unseen Program Director Rich Gill. “As someone who is from Rochester, it’s great to have a venue like Pop’s available to show independent film and support a niche festival like this. We’re excited to give the residents of Rochester a taste of what we’ve been doing with Sound Unseen in Minneapolis for the last 24 years.”
SCHEDULE
- Friday, Nov 17 — Meeting Charlie Parr, 7:30pm
- Sat, Nov 18 — Karen Carpenter, 4:30pm / Louder Than You Think, 7pm / We Are Fugazi, 9pm
- Sun, Nov 19 — Skateboard, 3pm / Finding Her Beat, 5:30pm
ABOUT THE FILMS
MEETING CHARLIE PARR • Directed by Francois Xavier Dubois & Charles Dubois, France, 2013
Opening Night • Friday, Nov 17 | 7:30pm Trailer
Meeting Charlie Parr is a musical journey through the Midwest that meets one its most emblematic folk singers. In the Great Lakes forests, through the Minnesota plains, on stage or at home, we get to know Charlie Parr, an endearing and unique artist. Meeting after meeting, Charlie talks about his authentic blues music and what it says about America.
KAREN CARPENTER: STARVING FOR PERFECTION • Sat, Nov 18 | 4:30pm • Directed by Randy Martin, USA, 2022 Trailer
As the #1 American musical act of the 1970s, The Carpenters were on “Top of the World,” producing a string of pop masterpieces, including “Close to You,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” and “Rainy Days and Mondays.” But behind closed doors, Karen’s quest for perfection resulted in low self-esteem, a disheartening love life, and a public battle with anorexia nervosa, which resulted in her untimely death at the age of only 32. For the first time, we hear Karen Carpenter’s personal struggle in her own voice through never-before-released recordings – and through the legendary voices of those who knew her and were inspired by her music, including Carol Burnett, Olivia Newton-John, Kristin Chenoweth, Cynthia Gibb, Suzanne Somers, and Belinda Carlisle.
LOUDER THAN YOU THINK: A LO-FI HISTORY OF GARY YOUNG AND PAVEMENT • Sat, Nov 18 | 7:00pm • Directed by Jed I. Rosenberg, USA, 2023
Winner of the SXSW 2023 Audience Award for the 24 Beats Per Second section, an up-close cinematic walkabout through the life of Gary Young, the original (and highly unlikely) drummer of indie rock royalty Pavement. His booze and drugs-fuelled antics (on-stage handstands, gifting vegetables to fans) and haphazard production methods (accidentally helping launch the lo-fi aesthetic) were both a driving force of the band’s early rise and the cause of his eventual crash landing.
WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON D.C. • Sat, Nov 18 | 9:00pm • Directed by Joe Gross, Joseph Pattisall, & Jeff Krulik, USA, 2023 Trailer
To commemorate the 20 years that have passed since DC-based post-hardcore band Fugazi’s last live appearance, We Are Fugazi From Washington, DC comprises crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows and rare archival footage to pay tribute to Fugazi’s prowess as a live act — for old fans to remember and for a new generation to discover what they missed. This unique archival assemblage celebrates the fans and their cameras, as much as the band itself — a collision/collusion of the ephemeral moment on stage, and the moments captured on camera.
SKATEBOARD: THE MOVIE - 45th ANNIVERSARY / NEW RESTORATION • Sun, Nov 19 | 3:00pm • Directed by George Gage, USA, 1978, Fiction
Skateboard was the first feature film to depict the height of the 70s skateboard craze. Many refer to it as the Bad News Bears of the sport. It’s star-studded cast includes Alan Garfield, 70s teen idol Leif Garrett, skateboarding legend Tony Alva, and iconic female freestyler and member of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame Ellen O’Neal.
FINDING HER BEAT • Sun, Nov 19 | 5:30pm • Directed by Dawn Mikkelsen, Keri Pickett, USA, 2022
A master of Japanese drumming and a Korean adoptee from Minnesota boldly convene an all-female troupe to perform Taiko, the Japanese drumming art that has been off-limits to women for centuries. As the early menace of Covid rumbles in the background, the group faces down hurdles to prepare for a historic performance in snowy St. Paul. Buoyed by dynamic drum performances and do-or-die spirit, FINDING HER BEAT is an energizing and uplifting story of music, cultural expression and sisterhood.
Learn more about the festival at: www.soundunseen.com