Sound Unseen 2014: A conversation with Festival Director Jim Brunzell
November 07, 2014
Sound Unseen, Minneapolis' annual festival of films about music, returns this fall with a full slate of films whose topics range from cartooning to hardcore, from the history of radio to the stories of musicians both obscure and legendary.
Jim Brunzell, director for the Sound Unseen festival, stopped by to share the news for the 15th annual Sound Unseen Film festival taking place Nov. 12-16, 2014 in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.
Some of the screenings highlighted:
Wednesday, November 12 at McNally Smith College of Music 7pm
OPENING NIGHT FILM & MINNESOTA PREMIERE: "Heaven Adores You"
Director Nickolas Rossi, producer Marc Smolowitz will be in attendance.
"Heaven Adores You" is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith. In this documentary portrait, we journey through the life of American singer and songwriter Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith, a musician whose rise to prominence in the 1990s and early 2000s was cut short by his untimely death at the age of 34 in 2003.
Friday, November 14 at McNally Smith College of Music 7pm
MIDWEST PREMIERE: "Beautiful Noise" dir. Eric Green.
The definitive documentary about influential 80's and 90's guitar bands who harnessed massively loud sounds using a sea of effects pedals and delivered some of the most "Beautiful Noise" ever recorded. 8 years in the making, with over 50 interviews, band members, music icons and tastemakers featuring Trent Reznor, Wayne Coyne, Robert Smith, Cocteau Twins, The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Swervedriver, Lush, Curve and more. "Beautiful Noise" is an in-depth exploration of a music movement in the late 20th century, a fascinating period when some innovative musicians mixed guitar noise into conventional pop song structures while maintaining a philosophy of letting the music speak for itself. Although many of the people interviewed are notoriously press shy they have opened up about their music and experiences from over 20 years ago; how they defied the rules and became sonic innovators that have inspired so many.
Friday, November 14 at Amsterdam Bar and Hall 9pm
CENTERPIECE SPECIAL SCREENING and EVENT: "Flood Tide" A special live accompanied evening of Flood Tide (starring Dark Dark Dark) and short films scored live by members of the band.
Original score by Dark Dark Dark. A group of artists, shaken by the death of their friend, build extraordinary boats out of ordinary junk and set out for open water.Flood Tide is a collaboration with the Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea, a project dreamed up by the artist Swoon and built by a group of artists and performers who floated seven large sculptures down the Hudson River. Flood Tide interweaves documentation of this journey with layers of fiction, mythology, and oral history to create a film that both documents and re-imagines the real-life project.Music is an integral part of Flood Tide, both on screen and off. The film features an all- original score by the band Dark Dark Dark and includes several onscreen performances by the band, as well as a special performance by renowned experimental musician Pauline Oliveros.