KBOO is a proud media partner for NW Film Center's Reel Music Fstival 29
When: October 7-October23
Where: The Whitsell Auditoruim at the Portland Art Museum - unless otherwise noted
Our 29th Annual Reel Music Festival brings to the surface films that tell the creative, unexpected, and sometimes transformative origins of sounds so infused in our experience.
We hope that our annual celebration of sound and image, music and culture, offers something that will perk your curiosity, warm your soul, and send you scouting for new discovery—whatever your musical tastes.
KBOO is sponsoring these films:
at 6:30 PM
at 8:30 PM
DIRECTOR: FRANK SCHEFFER
NETHERLANDS, 2002
Ever seen Frank Zappa without facial hair, playing bicycle spokes on “The Steve Allen Show” in the early ’60s? You can, in Scheffer’s compelling, comprehensive overview of Zappa’s unique achievements, peppered with mesmerizing historical footage and full of surprises. With performances by the Ensemble Modern and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, “pronouncements” by Zappa himself, and interviews with Edgar Varèse, Pierre Boulez, Captain Beefheart, Ian Underwood, George Duke, Haskell Wexler, Gail and Dweezil Zappa, and more. (90 mins.)
*Location: McMenamins Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan (21+ only, please)
Sponsored by KBOO Radio and Musicfest NW.
at 7 PM
DIRECTOR: RENAUD BARRET, FLORENT DE LA TULLAYE
FRANCE, 2010
Barret and de la Tullaye’s film follows the band’s remarkable fairy tale journey from the streets of Kinshasa, Congo, to become international stars. “Benda Bilili” means “see beyond” in Congolese, a phrase which has profound meaning for this group of musicians which includes five paraplegics and an able-bodied teenager who makes music from a tin can connected to a stick with a piece of nylon. They sing about life on the streets, suffering from polio, sleeping on cardboard, and riding around on customized Mad Max-style tricycles. Fantastic music and remarkable characters make this an uplifting and unforgettable story of dream come reality. (86 mins.)
Sponsored by KBOO Radio.
at 2:30 PM
DIRECTOR: WHITNEY DOW
US, 2011
A rhythmic meeting of music and history, WHEN THE DRUM IS BEATING interweaves the stories of Haiti and its most celebrated band, Septentrional. Founded in 1948 by Ulrick Pierre Louis, this rotating mix of Haiti’s finest musicians delivers a passionate mélange of traditional voodoo music and 20-piece Cuban big band rhythms. It’s the “Haitian people’s band” and it has outlasted all of the country’s dictators, political turmoil, natural disasters, and enduring poverty. In addition to a rich musical story, Dow offers a deep understanding of the survival of Haitian culture and a moving portrait of a people’s pride, resistance, despair, and rich artistic tradition. (85 mins.)
Sponsored by KBOO Radio.
at 4:45 PM
DIRECTOR: PHILIPPE GASNIER, PATRICE NEZAN
FRANCE, 2009
Given the exotic island nation’s place at the crossroads of the spice route, Taarab, the music of Zanzibar, reflects two millennia of cultural exchange between East and West. Shot in gorgeously evocative bright colors with an immediacy that makes you feel like you’re simply there, ZANZIBAR MUSIC CLUB is an invitation to explore a millenary Muslim culture where traditions are transmitted through music—to discover a world fed with Arabic tones, Latin rhythms, Indian melodies, and African drums. (85 mins.)
Sponsored by KBOO Radio.