Here at ChiIL Mama & ChiIL Live Shows, we can't wait for the 7th Chicago International Movies & Music Festival (CIMMfest). We've been covering the annual four-day showcase since 2012. CIMMfest is one of our favorites, combining two of our passions, and celebrating the inseparable connection between music and movies. Be there as the 7th annual CIMMfest unspools April 16-19, 2015.
This year the multi-venue festival expands beyond its home base along the Milwaukee Avenue corridor – from Wicker Park to Logan Square – to include events in
North Central, Lakeview, Hyde Park, the Loop and Pilsen. Festival passes are still available at CIMMfest.org
Live scoring programs, during which bands, orchestras and soloists perform a film’s music score live in front of the projected movie, have become a signature draw for CIMMfest. This year’s offerings include movies live-scored by acclaimed composer Marc Ribot (Josef von Sternberg’s The Docks of New York), electronic trio Chandeliers (Hungarian animation Fehérlófia) and two more to be announced in coming weeks as part of the City's Lake FX Summit + Expo.
Movie highlights include the world premiere of John Anderson's Sam Lay in Bluesland, the U.S. premiere of Chinese punk rock doc Never Release My Fist, the North American Premiere of Brasil Bam Bam Bam and the Chicago premieres of Nick Hall's Joe Strummer doc I Need a Dodge! and Mark Shuman's Morphine meditation Morphine: Journey of Dreams. And for National Record Store Day – Saturday, April 18 – Metallica's Robert Trujillo will present the Chicago premiere of his film Jaco!, a tribute to the world’s greatest bass player Jaco Pastorius.
Music highlights of CIMMfest No. 7 include powerhouse vocalist Lisa Fischer (Twenty Feet From Stardom) for two shows at Thalia Hall, a DJ Event featuring sonic architect Hank Shocklee (Public Enemy's Bomb Squad) and Luftwerk technical director Liviu Pasare in conjunction with the premiere of synthesizer doc 808, and Sierre Leone's Refugee All-Stars following a showing of their self-titled documentary that launched them into worldwide fame. The Saturday before the festival, CIMMfest presents a Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame Sendoff Party for Chicago drummer extraordinaire Sam Lay.
The movie Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars anchors an African Sidebar of a half dozen acclaimed films including Chicago premieres from South Africa, Niger and Mali, and a sneak preview of Andy Jones' work in progress film I Shot Bi Kidude about the mysterious disappearance of the world's oldest singer in Tanzania.
Honoree Julien Temple has been selected to receive the third annual BAADASSSS Award for his contributions as a filmmaker, documentarian and music video innovator. Temple chronicled the London punk scene in the ’70s via his relationship with The Sex Pistols and Malcolm McLaren (The Great Rock and Roll Swindle) and made groundbreaking music videos for The Kinks (“Come Dancing”), The Rolling Stones (“Undercover of the Night”) and David Bowie (“Jazzin’ for Blue Jean”) before going on to direct features. As part of the festival, a retrospective of Temple's films will be shown, including Absolute Beginners on 35mm, The Filth and the Fury (The Sex Pistols), Oil City Confidential (Dr Feelgood), Dave Davies: Kinkdom Come, Ray Davies: Imaginary Man and doc Rio 50 Degrees: Carry on CaRIOca! Previous BAADASSSS Award recipients are director-actor-musician Melvin Van Peebles and SXSW co-founder Louis Black.
CIMMfest 2015 occurs in tandem with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events’ nascent
Lake FX Summit + Expo, a free conference for artists, creative professionals and entrepreneurs. CIMMfest is programming film aspects for the Lake FX summit at the Chicago Cultural Center, Pilsen and Hyde Park, concurrent with the CIMMfest music and movies programming in Wicker Park/Logan Square/North Center and beyond.
Adam Montgomery, Senior Manager of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, joins CIMMfest this year as the festival’s Director of Film Programming. Esteemed Britain-based film journalist Andy Markowitz – cofounder of MusicFilmWeb – joins CIMMfest as Associate Film Programmer.
A sampling of confirmed films, musical acts and live scoring events for CIMMfest No. 7:
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MOVIES
808: The Movie (Alexander Dunn, England, 94 min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
A comprehensive history of the Roland TR-808, the iconic drum machine that shaped the face of ’80s hip-hop, R&B, rock and pop music and is still in heavy use today. Features Pharrell Williams, David Guetta, Phil Collins, Questlove, Diplo and Goldie, among others, waxing poetic about the influence of a drum machine that changed the world of music as we know it. CIMMfest is excited to program this film alongside live performances featuring local electronic musicians utilizing the famous sound of the 808. A special 808 DJ Event featuring Hank Shocklee and Liviu Pasare follows the movie at 1st Ward.
Basically Johnny Moped (Fred Burns, UK, 77 min).
Formed in 1974 by a group of school friends from Croydon, Johnny Moped was the band fronted by, and named after the enigmatic Paul Halford (aka Johnny Moped). By 1977 “punk rock’s idiot savants” were at the heart of London’s burgeoning punk scene and, for a moment, looked like contenders. Despite having Chrissie Hynde and Captain Sensible as past members, success was not to come their way and Johnny Moped is now largely forgotten… punk rock’s great lost band. Their story is a fascinating one that, along with some of the era’s most innovative music, deserves to be heard.
"Johnny Moped were better than the Clash and the Pistols put together." – Shane MacGowan
Billy Mize and The Bakersfield Sound (William J. Saunders, USA, 100 min) CHICAGO PREMIERE
Billy Mize's contributions to Country and Western music helped shape the music industry as we know it. His raw-edged style of country music known for its piercing guitar and honest, down-to-earth lyrics became the cornerstone for artists such as Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, and Buck Owens. His charm and golden voice are legendary among country music's elite, as is his passion for music. In the prime of his career in the 1960's, Billy made it to the brink of superstardom, only to turn it down to focus on family life, but horrific tragedy forced him to seek solace in music once again. At the age of 59, Mize suffered a stroke and lost his ability to speak and play guitar. After several unsuccessful stints in speech rehabilitation, he was admitted to an experimental facility in Florida, where he miraculously re-gained the ability to sing. This inspirational documentary culminates with Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound (including Merle Haggard) performing for the first time in over 20 years. A swan song for an amazing and inspiring career.
Brasil Bam Bam Bam: The Story of Sonzeira (Charlie William Inman, Brazil/UK/USA, 69min). NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE
The documentary film goes to the heart of what really made Brazil famous. From Bossa to Samba to Batucada to Baile Funk, Rio's sounds have enchanted worldwide audiences since the 1950s. Gilles Peterson – BBC Broadcaster, Record Collector, DJ and supporter of Brazilian music for the last 25 years – traveled to Rio to create the super-group Sonzeira and record the seminal album Brasil Bam Bam Bam. This film tells the story of that journey. Featuring Seu Jorge, Elza Soares, Wilson Das Neves, Ed Motta, Marcos Valle and more.
Danny Says (Brendan Toller, USA, 104 min).
A documentary on the life and times of Danny Fields. Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and “culture” of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Cream, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. Danny Says follows Fields from Phi Beta Kappa whiz-kid, to Harvard Law dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to “punk pioneer” and beyond. Danny’s taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, have turned out to have been prescient. Danny Says is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant garde turning prophetic, as Fields looks to the next generation.
The Dicks from Texas (Cindy Marabito, USA, 70min).
Long before Austin made weirdness a civic virtue, The Dicks made it a cause. Three rawboned Marlboro Man types fronted by Gary Floyd, a fat queer with a penchant for fright wigs, this self-described "commie faggot band" helped put the Texas capital on the punk map in the early '80s with anthems like "Dicks Hate the Police" and "Wheelchair Epidemic." Cindy Marabito was there, and her super-DIY documentary is an affectionate oral history of a truly distinctive hardcore scene that, like the band and community it chronicles, makes up in attitude and personality what it lacks in polish.
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll (John Pirozzi, Cambodia, 105 min)
CHICAGO PREMIERE
During the ’60s and early ’70s as the war in Vietnam threatened its borders, a new music scene emerged in Cambodia that took Western rock and roll and stood it on its head – creating a sound like no other. Cambodia musicians crafted this sound from the various rock music styles sweeping America, England and France, adding the unique melodies and hypnotic rhythms of their traditional music. The beautiful singing of their renowned female vocalists became the final touch that made this mix so enticing. After taking over the country in 1975, the Khmer Rouge began wiping out all traces of Western influence and eliminated artists and musicians, beginning one of the most brutal genocides in history. Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll tracks the twists and turns of Cambodian music as it morphs into rock and roll, blossoms and is nearly destroyed along with the rest of the country. In English and Cambodian with English subtitles.
East Nashville Tonight (Brad Barnes, Todd Barnes, USA, 85min).
In February of 2013, the Barnes Brothers attempted to shoot a documentary about the lives of Todd Snider, Elizabeth Cook and other touring songwriters residing in the burgeoning East Nashville neighborhood. They failed. Instead, drugs and booze took over. They ended up with East Nashville Tonight, the greatest hypothetical documentary stoner musical of all times. Todd Snider performs live Sunday, April 19 at City Winery Chicago.
The Front Man (Paul Devlin, USA, 72min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
Disillusioned by the broken promise of Rock ‘n’ Roll, but still plagued by dreams of stardom, a charismatic musician goes on a 27-year journey in search of the meaning of success. Dynamic and abrasively funny, Jim Wood must reconcile his joy creating music and his wife Christie’s desire for a child with a culture in which anything short of celebrity is failure. Jim and Christie’s quest for fame takes a windy path through the homes of acclaimed musicians, a legendary recording studio, the set of a cult horror movie, and onto national television. Filmmaker Paul Devlin will be in attendance.
Hard Working Americans: The First Waltz (Justin Kreutzmann, USA, 90min)
What begins with a creaky rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” and the firing of a freshly rolled number unfolds into a multilayered examination of what it means to be American. This rockumentary about the creation of supergroup Hard Working Americans creates an insightful snapshot of a fertile new collaboration for battered-but-unbroken hippy musical lifers Todd Snider, Dave Schools, Neal Casal, Chad Staehly, Duane Trucks and Jesse Aycock. The film follows Hard Working Americans behind the scenes in the studio as the band collaborates on its self-titled debut album and on the road for their first national tour. “Mixing intimate concert performances, road scenes, personal tales and studio footage, The First Waltz arrives at a crucial moment to remind us that Jerry Garcia is as important as Ben Franklin and that rock ’n’ roll is as much a birthright as the Constitution." – Dennis Cook. Todd Snider performs live Sunday, April 19 at City Winery Chicago.
Hardcore DEVO Live! (Keirda Bahruth, USA, 85 min).
In the summer of 2014, DEVO embarked on a 10-city “Hardcore DEVO,” tour playing the seminal, experimental songs they created, pre-fame, in basements and garages in Akron, Ohio between 1974 and 1977. The band had not played most of these songs since that time. Filmmaker Keirda Bahruth documented this once-in-a-lifetime tour filmed June 28 at the Fox Theater in Oakland California.
Director Keirda Bahruth (Bob and the Monster) will be in attendance
The Hip-Hop Fellow (Kenneth Price, USA, 79min).
The Hip-Hop Fellow follows Grammy Award-winning producer Patrick Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, through his tenure at Harvard University as he teaches The Standards of Hip-Hop, conducts research for his thesis and lectures at Duke University. The film centers on the emerging significance of incorporating hip-hop music studies into academia, and highlights the scholars at the forefront of preserving 40 years of hip hop culture. Featured interviews include Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Phonte, Ab-Soul, Young Guru, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, Rapper Big Pooh, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Dr. Marcyliena Morgan and DJ Premier.
I Need a Dodge! Joe Strummer on the Run (Nick Hall, Spain/UK, 67 min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
It’s 1997 and Joe Strummer is interviewed live on Spanish Radio 3 from Glastonbury. During the interview he talks about his Dodge, a car he bought in Madrid 12 years earlier and which he later left in one of the city's car parks, unable to remember which one. A call is put out for the people of Madrid to search the local car parks for the missing Dodge. In 1984 Strummer found himself at a professional and creative crossroads. His erstwhile friend and band mate Mick Jones was enjoying new found success with Big Audio Dynamite while Joe was suffering the pressures and infighting of his rapidly disintegrating band, The Clash. It was in this context that he would turn up in Granada in southern Spain. Once in Spain Joe quickly made friends among the local rock bands. His first real creative challenge in the wake of the fallout from The Clash would be as producer of the second 091 LP in post-dictatorship Madrid. It was during the recording of the LP that members of Spain's most famous rock group Radio Futura helped Joe to buy the now legendary Dodge. The documentary looks at the period when, after eight intense years in the media spotlight, Joe was forced to choose a new path. We discover what initially drew Strummer to Spain, the truth behind the 091 recording sessions, and investigate what happened to Joe's beloved Dodge.
Jaco! The Film (Robert Trujillo, USA) CHICAGO PREMIERE
On Saturday, April 18, Record Store
Day.org presents the Chicago Premiere of
Jaco!, the story of world’s greatest bass player Jaco Pastorius, his life, his music, his demise and ultimately the fragility of great artistic genius. There are few musicians who fundamentally change their instrument, and even fewer still who transcend their instrument altogether. Jaco, master of the fretless bass, did both. In 1976, his melodic “singing” bass style redefined the role of the bass in modern music. Almost overnight, critics hailed Pastorius as “the future of modern music,” alongside popular visionaries like David Bowie, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed and Herbie Hancock. Produced by Metallica’s
Robert Trujillo in association with Passion Pictures (
Searching for Sugarman),
Jaco! includes incredible insights from an array of artists including Flea, Joni Mitchell, Sting, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Geddy Lee, Bootsy Collins and Carlos Santana as well as Jaco’s family and friends.
Producer Robert Trullio will be on hand to present the film and conduct a Q&A. Logan Cinema
Killer B3 (Murv Seymour, USA, 93 min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
A documentary about the Hammond Organ, the 425-pound keyboard often called the beast. The Hammond B3 is the signature model that spit out one of the most unique sounds used in all styles of music, including, gospel, jazz, blues, rock, country, reggae and commercial soundtracks. Killer B3 captures the spirit and passion of players who have committed a lifetime to master the Hammond sound, choosing to make music with the complex and bulky instrument over the simplistic and portable keyboard, including organist, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Mcgriff, Tony Monaco, Joey DeFrancesco, Shawn Brown, Pappa John DeFrancesco, Jimmy Smith, Jr. and Chicago’s own Chris Foreman (playing Fridays and Sundays at The Green Mill).
Morphine: Journey of Dreams (Mark Shuman, USA/Italy 91 min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
The story of the iconic genre-busting 1990s “low rock” band Morphine is told by its surviving members and the coterie around them, sans narration, and made palpable through saxophonist Dana Colley's tour journals. Rare live performances from throughout the group's career woven into the tale display why the trio's unique and mesmeric sound continues to resonate with its fans and music lovers worldwide following the death of its singer, songwriter and two-string bassist Mark Sandman onstage at an Italian music festival in 1999. Vapors of Morphine will perform a special live show afterward at TBD
Never Release My Fist (Shui-Bo Wang, China/Canada). U.S. PREMIERE
Oscar-nominated Chinese-Canadian director Wang Shuibo (Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square) premieres his latest work, a feature-length documentary on the life and music of punk rockers in Wuhan, the center stage of punk rock in China in the late '90s. The film follows Wu Wei, 39, who grew up in a blue color neighborhood in the Chinese industrial city of 20 million people on the Yangtze River, and has been the lead singer of SMZB, a Chinese punk band famous for its strong voice against the county's political system. He is known as the Godfather of Wuhan’s punk rock movement. NRMF also features Wu Wei's ex-wife Hu Juan, a beautiful drummer loved by everyone from the punk groups, Zhang Hai, the lead singer of Play To Death, who sold marijuana to open his small pizza restaurant after giving up music, and Kang Mao, a diehard punk and lead singer of SUBS who left Wuhan for Beijing when her all-girl punk band broke up. Sixteen years past, SMZB is the last punk band standing in Wuhan.
The Possibilities Are Endless (James Hall, Edward Lovelace, UK, 83min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
In 2005 Scottish singer-songwriter Edwyn Collins, best known for fronting '80s postpunk band Orange Juice and for his out-of-the-blue 1994 solo hit "A Girl Like You," suffered a catastrophic cerebral hemorrhage that wiped his mind clean. This intimate, elliptical film, named for a phrase that was inexplicably on Collins' lips when he emerged from a coma, chronicles his intensely personal experience of recovery with structural boldness, visual imagination and sublime empathy, steering its course from near abstraction to brilliant clarity as Collins regains language, memory, music, humor and love.
The Road to God Knows Where (Uli M Schueppel, Germany, 89min).
The Road to God Knows Where might just be the coolest student film ever made. Twenty-five years before Nick Cave bared his quasi-fictional soul in 20,000 Days on Earth (CIMMFest 2014), Schueppel – then studying at the German Film Academy; now one of Berlin's most respected indie directors – got a peek behind the veil, accompanying Cave and the Bad Seeds on a five-week US tour. He returned with this riveting vérité document, rarely screened since its 1990 release, that intimately captures the experience of life on the road for a budding icon adjusting uneasily to sobriety and celebrity.
Sam Lay in Bluesland (John Anderson, USA). WORLD PREMIERE
He was on drums when Bob Dylan went electric at Newport. He was in the studio and on the road with blues greats Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and James Cotton. He was a founding member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band. He is, at 79, still an active part of the Chicago blues scene and the man some call “the greatest drummer of all time.” Blues’ most celebrated drummer finally steps into the spotlight in Sam Lay in Bluesland. Recognized almost as much for his sartorial style as for his signature double-shuffle beat — his capes, crowns, canes and cowbells are the stuff of legend— Sam Lay has played a key role in the evolution of the blues for almost 60 years. Against a backdrop of the troubled, racially turbulent 1960s, Lay’s singular life and career is told through his own words, music and personal films in this new feature-length documentary about his life and career, featuring appearances by James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Iggy Pop, Corky Siegel, Barry Goldberg, Nick Gravenites, Jim Keltner, Marcy Levy, Gary Mallaber and Kenny Wayne Shepard. Sam Lay appears live at a Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Send-Off Celebration, Saturday, April 11 at Rosa's.
Shake the Dust (Adam Sjöberg, USA)
Colombia, Cambodia, Uganda, Yemen. Breakdancing unites people worldwide in the common languages of movement, expression and hip-hop. In this feature documentary, rap superstar and producer Nas presents a broad look at a movement inspiring hope in global urban communities.
Teenage Ghost Punk (Mike Cramer, USA, 99min).
When a family moves from rural Michigan to a Victorian house near Chicago, strange things start happening. Creepy noises. Unexplained messes. Old punk rock albums go missing. Suspecting the house is haunted, they hire a wacky medium and a team of bumbling paranormal investigators to help, but teenage daughter Amanda discovers on her own that the house is haunted by the ghost of a 17-year-old punk guitarist named Brian, and his fun-loving band of dead pals. Amanda and Brian form a friendship that soon veers toward romance. But the past collides with the present. From Oak Park lawyer-turned-filmmaker Mike Cramer.
Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents (Don Hardy, USA). MIDWEST PREMIERE
After programming a short preview of the film last year, CIMMfest presents the full story of the renegade art, sound and video collective known as The Residents. Throughout a career spanning 40 years, many details surrounding the group are still shrouded in mystery, including the identities of its members. As early adopters of short-form video as a vessel for visual interpretations of music, The Residents were in heavy rotation during the early days of MTV, always performing anonymously behind masks and costumes. Through candid interviews and fly-on-the-wall observations, this film tells the story of a group that has always played by its own rules and never caved to convention. Obscured behind eyeball masks and tuxedos, this is the true story of The Residents.
Y/Our Music (Waraluck Hiransrettawat Every, David Reeve, Thailand/UK, 81min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
Where does the Thai musical identity lie? In the traditional songs of work and faith from the sprawling rural region of Isan? In the experimental art-rock honed in Bangkok basements and galleries? In the bamboo saxophones laboriously handmade by a jazz-loving optician? Yes, yes, yes, and more. Y/Our Music takes a sonic journey through Thailand from rice fields to urban markets, spanning generations and geography to reveal a diverse and, at times, divided musical culture, and reveling in the artistry of singers and players working to preserve and update the old ways.
AFRICAN SIDEBAR
Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai (Christopher Kirkley, USA/Niger) CHICAGO PREMIERE
Prince goes Sahel in this colorful Saharan homage to Purple Rain featuring the smoking Nigerien guitarist Mdou Moctar as the new axe-slinger in a guitar-mad Tuareg town. Resplendent in a purple robe and matching motorcycle, Mdou woos an enigmatic local beauty, fights with his conservative, music-hating dad and fences with a jealous local star until the night of the big guitar contest.
As Old as My Tongue: The Myth and Life of Bi Kidude (Andy Jones, UK/Tanzania, 66 min).
A portrait of singer Bi Kidude, a living legend on her home island of Zanzibar. She has beguiled audiences around the world on her wide and varied travels.
I Shot Bi Kidude (Andy Jones, UK/Tanzania) SNEAK PREVIEW
A special preview of work in progress, I Shot Bi Kidude is a dramatic investigation into the final days of the life of Bi Kidude, one of Africa’s greatest musical heroines and the world’s oldest singer. In 2013, this fast-talking, chain-smoking rebel-rocker was kidnapped. Following up on As Old As My Tongue, his earlier film on the myth and life of Kidude, director Andy Jones and his team return to Zanzibar in order to get to the bottom of the mystery. Just two months later, Bi Kidude was dead. I Shot Bi Kidude is the final chapter in the life of a legend.
Shield and Spear (Petter Ringbom, US/S. Africa, 89 min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
An artist paints a caricature of South African president Jacob Zuma that provokes a lawsuit, death threats and a massive street protest. Around this incident, Shield and Spear explores a constellation of stories about identity, art, race and freedom of expression in South Africa, 20 years into democracy.
Sierre Leone’s Refugee All Stars (Zach Niles, Banker White, USA/Guinea, 78min).
The story of a group of courageous musicians who form a band in a West African refugee camp to keep their hope alive. Following the movie, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars perform live at Martyrs’
They Will Have to Kill Us First: Malian Music in Exile (Johanna Schwartz, UK, 105min). CHICAGO PREMIERE
Islamic extremists have banned music in Mali, but its world-famous musicians won’t give up without a fight. A documentary about music in the West African country follows Mali’s musical superstars as they fight for their right to sing.
JULIEN TEMPLE RETROSPECTIVE
Absolute Beginners
A musical adaptation of Colin MacInnes' novel about life in late 1950s London. Nineteen-year-old photographer Colin (Eddie O'Connell) is hopelessly in love with model Crepe Suzette (Patsy Kensit), but her relationships are strictly connected with her progress in the fashion world. So Colin gets involved with a pop promoter and tries to crack the big time. With David Bowie.
The Filth and the Fury
Temple’s first film in his trilogy on British music of the 1970's documents the career of the notorious punk rock band, the Sex Pistols.
Oil City Confidential
Temple's last film in his trilogy on British music of the 1970's focuses on Canvey Island band Dr Feelgood (“Roxette”) featuring guitarist Wilko Johnson. It is a prequel to Temple’s landmark films about punk figureheads the Sex Pistols in The Filth & The Fury and Joe Strummer in The Future Is Unwritten.
Dave Davies: Kinkdom Come
Kinks guitarist Dave Davies relives his tumultuous life and times amidst the serenity of his Exmoor sanctuary in Temple’s doc made for the BBC.
Ray Davies: Imaginary Man
Temple beautifully captures Ray Davies’ wistfulness in his excellent documentary on the former-Kink. Davies is allowed to gently meander around his past life, talking about his childhood, his family of seven sisters and one brother, his early days with The Kinks, the development of his writing skill and his life of fame, parenthood and growing-up, all of which seemed to happen so fast.
Rio 50 Degrees: Carry on CaRIOca!
A look at Rio's cultural, political and technical revolutions since the 1970s to 2011.
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MUSIC
Sam Lay Send-off Show
CIMMfest 2015 kicks off with a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame send-off party for blues’ most celebrated drummer. Sam Lay was on drums when Bob Dylan went electric at Newport. He was in the studio and on the road with blues greats Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and James Cotton. He was a founding member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band. He is, at 79, still an active part of the Chicago Blues scene and the man some call “the greatest drummer of all time.” And on April 18, he’ll be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The CIMMfest 2015 kickoff event hosted by Grammy-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker John Anderson includes tales and live performances with Sam Lay and Corky Siegel, clips from Anderson’s new movie Sam Lay in Bluestown and a full set with Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Saturday, April 11, 9pm at Rosa’s
THURSDAY, APRIL 16
Fort Knox Studios Showcase @ Martyrs
A variety of bands that practice at Fort Knox Studios, the music rehearsal and recording studio facility located on the north side of Chicago at Wilson & Montrose, showcase their music. Featured bands include:
Phosphene, hard rock/ pop metal
AudioBakery, progressive rock
Halfmoon Mad, alternative rock/pop
CIMMfest Pre: Emanation – A Percussion Event @ 1st ward
Featuring percussionists: Thomas Benko, Chris Hainey, Colin Campbell and Nora Bratton.
The Right Now @ Double Door
This R&B, soul band shines with raw, gritty performances and elegant arrangements that are the result of countless hours of performing, rehearsing and traveling together.
Yakuza and Rabble Rabble @ Burlington
Yakuza, avant-garde metal band acclaimed for its incorporation of jazz and world music elements, performs with psych punks Rabble Rabble
Miss Alex White showcase @ Township
Miss Alex White presents:
Digital Leather, musical project led by multi-instrumentalist Shawn Foree
Mac Blackout, champion of the local scene who runs the gamut from hardcore punk to synthy glam rock
The Holy Motors, rock 'n 'roll trio
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
808 DJ event @ 1st Ward
With:
Hank Shocklee, sonic architect and founder of Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad
Liviu Pasare, technical director at Luftwerk and owner of Chicago-based practice creating visual experiences using new media and technology
House showcase @ Metro
Featuring:
DJ Sneak, Puerto Rico-born house music DJ
Mark Farina, disc jockey and musician -- Chicago house, acid jazz and downtempo works
Derrick Carter, house producer and DJ
The Shotwell Showcase @ Double Door
Featuring:
Bailiff, blues-rock
Sidewalk Chalk, contemporary hip-hop, soul and jazz
My Gold Mask, indie rock
Jamaican Queens, electronic pop
Smoker, dream-pop, alternative
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars @ Martyrs
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have risen like a phoenix out of the ashes of war and enflamed the passions of fans across the globe with their uplifting songs of hope, faith and joy. The band is a potent example of the redeeming power of music and the ability of the human spirit to persevere through unimaginable hardship and emerge with optimism intact. From their humble beginnings in West African refugee camps Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and matured into one of Africa’s top touring and recording bands.
The Claudettes and The Cell Phones @ Emporium
The White Stripes and Black Keys rock the blues with a guitar attack. Like the Bad Plus, The Claudettes brandish a piano instead. Inspired by the ’60s piano-drums blues recordings of Otis Spann & S.P. Leary, band members Johnny and Michael formed their duo and created their own fanatical fusion of blues and soul-jazz. Following the The Claudettes is local trio, The Cell Phones, with their peculiar style of grind-core and power-pop elements marked by heavy acoustic bass and drums, with explosive vocals of front woman Lindsay Charles.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
Lisa Fischer @ Thalia Hall
Singer and composer
Lisa Fischer – The Rolling Stones’ powerhouse backup vocalist since 1989 – headlines her own show with a full band for two shows. Featured in the 2013 movie
Twenty Feet from Stardom, Fischer is renowned for her astonishing range. She has toured, recorded and made music with acts as diverse as Luther Vandross, Tina Turner and Nine Inch Nails. In 1992, Fischer won a solo Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Performance for her hit single "How Can I Ease the Pain" in an unlikely tie with Patti LaBelle (on whose song, “Burnin’,” she also sang backup). For this solo tour, Fischer has put together a brand new band to explore some new territory. The
YouTube version of her duet with Mick Jagger on “Gimme Shelter” has millions of hits.
Featuring:
Elle Casazza, fearless, sultry and powerful vocal soloist
Scotch Hollow, acoustic roots
Fletcher, alt-rock
The Damn Choir, six-piece indie rock
Matthew Santos, rock and folk singer-songwriter
Chicago Mixtape @ Hideout
Featuring:
Santah, indie rock
Pet Lions, infectious indie pop
Weatherman, experimental pop
The Gomers @ Emporium
The Gomers wrap up National Record Story Day with a “Gomeroke" love rock and roll karaoke celebration, where attendees can choose from 3000 songs to rock out to. The Gomers have been rocking since 1985 when they recorded their first album Comin' Atchya at Smart Studio.
Hank Green @ Metro
Pop rock musician Hank Green (and brother of author John Green) performs with Driftless Pony Club, Harry and the Potters, Rob Scallon and Andrew Huang.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19
Todd Snider @ City Winery
On the 20th anniversary of his first album, Songs for the Daily Planet, Alt-Country singer-songwriter Todd Snider plays City Winery in conjunction with CIMMfest’s showing of The First Waltz, the rockumentary about the formation of his rock ’n’ roll supergroup Hard Working Americans (Snider, Neal Casal, Chad Staehly, Duane Trucks and Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools).
Local H @ Metro
The pioneering, two-man band – frontman Scott Lucas on guitar and bass and drummer Ryan Harding – has released seven studio albums, a live album and a bunch of EPs. Local H debuts its brand new CD Hey, Killer, their first album in three years.
Where Movies and Music Meet
CIMMfest, the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival, is a four-day showcase of outstanding films, energetic concerts, visually stunning VJ/DJ sets, lively Q&A’s, daring live score performances, industry panels and presentations…anything to show just what movies and music mean to each other.
Each spring filmmakers, musicians and their passionate fans alike, descend upon Wicker Park and Logan Square, two of Chicago’s most eclectic, vibrant neighborhoods. That’s where CIMMfest takes place—the films by day, the live music by night—at theaters, galleries, bars, concert spaces and some of the city’s most storied venues.
The films come from all countries and cultures, and range from documentaries to fiction to concert films to shorts to music videos. They just have to be about music and/or use music in a creative, integral way. The live performances are inspired by film or feature visual accompaniment.
In 2014, CIMMfest expanded its music section to include more than 90 bands, 27 venues and a footprint along Milwaukee Avenue that stretches nearly two miles. CIMMcon made its debut in 2013, and in 2014 brought together more than 100 innovators, tastemakers, industry leaders and more in a series of 30+ free panels exploring everything from State of the Recording Industry to how to Kickstart your Film.
CIMMfest was imagined and brought to life by musician Josh Chicoine (Sabers, The M’s) and filmmaker Ilko Davidov (BulletProof Film). Neither knew what he was getting into at the start, but hundreds of films, thousands of attendees and countless incredible experiences later, CIMMfest is a publicized, respected Chicago fixture.
ABOUT CIMMFEST
The mission of the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival (CIMMfest) is to highlight the inseparability of film and music through the production of an annual four-day, multi-venue festival. CIMMfest is a convergence event that highlights the interconnectedness of all people shown through the lens of music and movies, on stage and on screen. All participating films have music at their center: short and long form documentaries and narrative fiction; concert films; animation; music videos; performances; live concert events; art exhibits; and panel discussions, presented at both new and historic venues around Chicago. CIMMfest is a platform for filmmakers and musicians, artists and producers, to present their vision and offer a connection point for people to come together for a celebration of movies, music, and good times in the greatest city on earth – Chicago! For more information, visit
www.CIMMfest.org.
Corporate sponsors of CIMMfest No. 7 include Lagunitas Brewing Co, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Mailchimp and Softlayer- An IBM Company.
ABOUT LAKE FX SUMMIT + EXPO
The region’s largest free conference for artists, creative professionals and entrepreneurs is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). Building on the success of three popular past events – the Creative Chicago Expo, the Chicago Music Summit and the Chicago Film and Media Summit – the four-day Summit + Expo will welcome thousands of artists and professionals engaged in creative industry businesses and organizations for keynotes by industry leaders, professional development panels and workshops, networking opportunities, music and film showcases, the Expo resource fair and a marketplace open to local artisans.
