1. Nömadak Tx
Spain - 2006 - 86 min. - Spanish, English subtitlesDirector: Raúl de la Fuente
Script: Raúl de la Fuente, Pablo Iraburu, Harkaitz Martínez de San Vicente & Igor Otxoa
Photography: Raúl de la Fuente
Sound: Raúl de la Fuente
Music: Harkaitz Martínez de San Vicente
Production: Igor Otxoa
Nömadak Tx tells the story of two musicians moving. Travelling with the txalaparta, a unique musical instrument that is played by two people, they arrive to India, Lapland, the Sahara and Mongolia to fuse their music with that of remote nomadic people. They find sounds in other nations, in other surroundings, in other cultures, and realise that music can be found in other people - people like us.
His trajectory marked with Cubans and Gypsies, his heart ruled by the Cuban sound and flamenco, the first works of director Raúl de la Fuente were musical pieces. Ten years ago, a friend, director and producer Pablo Iraburu opened the doors of the documentary genre for him. From there on, they have worked side by side in a number of projects, and now they produced Nömadak Tx together.
2. Rolling Like a Stone
Sweden - 2005 - 65 min. - Swedish, English subtitles
Director: Magnus Gertten & Stefan Berg
Photography: Stefan Berg
Sound: Alexander Thörnqvist
Editing: Jesper Osmund
Music: Metro Jets
Production: Auto Images AB
Back in 1965, at the height of their early fame, the Rolling Stones visited Malmö in Sweden. Rolling Like a Stone tells the story of those few summer days, when the Stones hung out and partied with the two local bands Namelosers and Gonks. This visit left a mark on the Swedish partakers, and its memory is still as fresh in their minds today as it was four decades ago.
Magnus Gertten has directed a number of highly praised documentaries for the Swedish national television. He has so far occupied himself mainly with stories from his own city, for instance the two films on the football team Malmö FF: True Blue (1998) and True Blue 2 (2002), which have both been shown at international film festivals.
Stefan Berg has worked as a rock musician and music video director. He has co-directed several documentaries with Gertten.
3. The Godfather of Disco
USA - 2007 - 82 min. - English
Director: Gene Graham
Photography: Francis Legge
Animation: Gene Graham & Anthony Manzo
Editing: Gene Graham
Production: Gene Graham & Francis Legge
The Godfather of Disco is based on the powerful autobiography of Mel Cheren. Through a series of interviews with a who's who of the dance music community, the documentary examines the musical and cultural currents of the early 70's that gave birth to disco, West End Records' contribution to that scene, and the rise of Paradise Garage. The document also introduces the impact of the onslaught of HIV/AIDS on New York City, and how Cheren has harnessed the power of music to fight the virus via his charity work.
The Godfather of Disco marks Gene Graham's directorial debut. Prior to directing and producing this documentary, Graham has and continues to enjoy a busy and successful editing career, working on feature length independent movies as well as cutting material for the advertising community. Some previous films edited by Graham include Dirty Laundry and The Ski Trip, which have both landed honors at various film festivals.
4. Sonic Mirror
Finland, Switzerland, Germany - 2007 - 89 min. - English/German/Portuguese, English subtitles
Director: Mika Kaurismäki
Script: Marco Forster, Uwe Dresch & Mika Kaurismäki
Photography: Jacques Cheuiche, abc.
Sound: Uwe Dresch
Editing: Oli Weiss & Abape
Music: Uwe Dresch
Production: Marco Forster Productions, Uwe Dresch Films Ltd, Marianna Films Oy & Doc Productions GmbH
With the lead of the drum legend Billy Cobham, Sonic Mirror dives into the world of rhythm. The journey takes from the bandstands of the Western world to the primal music of African origin with kids in a Brazilian community and on to the completely secluded reality of autistics. These different worlds are yet connected through music in a mystical and secret way. The relation between the collective and the individual consciousness becomes obvious when, in a fantastic final, the symbiosis is achieved.
Having studied cinema in Munich, Germany, Mika Kaurismäki together with younger brother Aki started a new era in the Finnish cinema in the 80's. In 1986 he co-founded the Midnight Sun Film Festival, and later he began to produce films through a production company of his own, Marianna Films. In the course of the 90's Mika Kaurismäki established his base and second home in Rio de Janeiro and started to focus more on international co-productions.
5. My Name is Albert Ayler
Sweden - 2005 - 79 min. - Swedish/English, English subtitles
Director: Kasper Collin
Photography: Peter Palm & Askild Vik Edwardsen
Sound: Mario Adamson & Carolina Jinde
Editing: Eva Hillström, Patrick Austen & Kasper Collin
Music: Albert Ayler
Production: Kasper Collin
The saxophonist Albert Ayler, who today is seen as one of the most important innovators in jazz, was obsessed with his radical music and by the thought that people one day would understand it. In 1962 he recorded his first album in Sweden. Eight years later he was found dead in New York's East River, aged 34. My Name Is Albert Ayler follows the trail of Ayler from his native town of Cleveland by way of Sweden to New York, meeting family, friends and close colleagues. Ayler himself guides us with his voice and music. Seven years in the making, the film includes newly discovered footage of Ayler and band.
Kasper Collin, born in Gothenburg 1972, has a degree in Culture and Film studies from Gothenburgh University. He has been working with film and television since the mid-90s. My Name Is Albert Ayler is his first feature length documentary.
6. Talvinen matka (A Winter's Journey)
Finland, Sweden, France - 2007 - 73 min. - Finnish/German, English subtitles
Director: Visa Koiso-Kanttila
Photography: Marita Hällfors
Sound: Pirkko Tiitinen & Pietari Koskinen
Editing: Tuula Mehtonen
Production: Iiris Härmä / Guerilla Films Ltd.
In the document, the main character Kalle Koiso-Kanttila graduates from a German music academy and hopes to become a soloist in the opera. However, the competition is ruthless, and the only things that help are hard work and a high self-esteem. A Winter's Journey is a film about a young man in search of himself and his voice.
Born in Oulu in 1970 Visa Koiso-Kanttila graduated from the Arts Academy of Turku in 1996. He has also studied directing documentary fims in New York during 2000-2001. His works have won several film awards. Koiso-Kanttila is a member of the film production community Elefantti.
7. Yhden tähden hotelli (Lone Star Hotel)
Finland - 2007 - 75 min. - Finnish, English subtitles
Director: Ari Matikainen
Script: Ari Matikainen
Photography: Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen
Sound: Mikko Mäkelä & Tuomas Klaavo
Editing: Aleksi Raij
Music: Jorma Kääriäinen, Agents & Janne Haavisto
Production: Arto Halonen & Jari Alén
This warm-hearted story about the indisputable lead man of Finnish rock genre is a touching yet music-filled journey to the life and dreams of the lead vocalist of the band Agents. The document follows the star Jorma Kääriäinen on dancing places in the Finnish summer, and examines his devoted fanhood of Elvis and the everyday life of a touring musician, fatherhood and career.
Born in Eno (Finnish Lapland) in 1970, Ari Matikainen has studied document film directing at the University of Arts and Design in Helsinki. His has directed several documents about the Finnish way of life in the 20th century. Matikainen has also directed music videos.
8. The Chosen Ones
Germany, USA - 2006 - 88 min. - English
Director: Wendla Nölle
Script: Wendla Nölle
Photography: Kevin Fritz
Sound: Roman Vehlken
Editing: Christiane Schniebel
Production: Wendla Nölle & Anna Fenske
The Chosen Ones takes us along on a very personal journey of discovery: the director Wendla Nölle is trying to find people who want to change something - and she finds them. A new generation of young Jews, whose cultural identity plays not only for the first time a major role in their art, but also in the way they present themselves to the public. It's not only the musicians we get to know through this film, as Nölle also invites us to share her very own view of New York, in which every image reveals her feeling of admiration for it.
Wendla Nölle has studied media engineering with focus on audio-visual production at a university of applied sciences in Hamburg. During this time she however realized her interests lie in more artistic work. To learn more about visual communication she entered the University for Visual Arts in Hamburg, where she learned how to tell cinematic stories. The Chosen Ones is Nölle's debut film.
9. BerlinSong
Germany - 2007 - 84 min. - English
Director: Uli M. Schueppel
Photography: Uli M. Schueppel
Sound: Martin Frühmorgen
Editing: Ernst Carrias
Music: Elisabeth Wood, Einar Stenseng, Kat Frankie, Josepha Conrad, Philip Conrad, Tommy Simatupang & Nathan Vanderpool
Production: Uli M. Schueppel
BerlinSong describes six musicians from Berlin's vibrant world of underground singer-songwriters. They were asked to show their favourite place in Berlin and to write a song about the city that is currently their home. Their reflections and projections about Berlin merge with their nascent songs and material filmed at the recording studio, as well as preparations for a joint concert. BerlinSong is a poetic portrait of this scene and its protagonists that take its audience on an atmospheric journey to the heart of Berlin the legend.
Born in 1958, Uli M. Schueppel began studying the humanities then later took up studies at the German Film and Television Academy in 1984. In 1990 he graduated with the Nick Cave portrait The Road to God Knows Where. Together with Milanka Comfort he founded the production company Deplex-Film in 1998, and since 2002 he Schueppel has been the creator of the Berlinale's opening soundtrack.
10. The Sounds of Silents
Germany, Czech - 2006 - 80 min. - German, English subtitles
Director: Ilona Ziok
Script: Ilona Ziok
Photography: Sergey Jurisditskiy, Wojciech Szepel & Erik Krambeck
Sound: Peter Domsch
Editing: Dietmar Kraus & Ludmilla Korb-Mann
Music: Willy Sommerfeld
Production: Manuel Goettsching, Ilona Ziok, Vera Lastuvkova & Matthias Wrage
Willy Sommerfeld is the last remaining original silent film pianist, who witnessed the very beginnings of cinema. A fossil of a by-gone era, his musical memory evokes the 19th century to an audience of the 21st century. We join the charismatic - today 103 year-old pianist who still performs - on an unusual trip back in time. Carefully selected sequences from silent films that Willy Sommerfeld accompanies on the piano become a mirror for his own long life.
Born in Poland, Ilona Ziok has studied Political Science and International Relations,
Slavic
Studies in Frankfurt, and Theatre and Film in New York and Moscow. Her
1999 film Kurt Gerrons Karussell participated in over 50 film festivals
and received international recognition.
