Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Music films featured in 2014 St. Louis International Film Festival

As in years past, the 23rd annual St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF), which starts this Thursday, November 13 and continues through Sunday, November 23, once again will feature a number of music-related films, including one of particular interest to jazz fans.

Waltz for Monica is a 2013 drama about the life of singer Monica Zetterlund, whose work in the 1960s helped popularize jazz in Scandinavia. It will be shown at 7:00 p.m. this Saturday, November 15 and again at 4:15 p.m. next Wednesday, November 19 at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

Although Zetterlund didn't have a big impact in the USA - part of the film deals with the less-than-favorable reception she got in the States - she did record with pianist Bill Evans' trio in 1964, and modern day jazz fans also may recognize her from a series of YouTube videos documenting a 1966 performance with Evans' trio. The film has been called "a stunning tour-de-force" for Swedish singer/songwriter Edda Magnason (pictured), who makes her acting debut as Monica.

After the jump, you can find ticketing info and a list of all the other music-related films in this year's SLIFF...

SLIFF's other music-related offerings this year will include (in chronological order of first screenings):

Mistaken for Strangers
Documentary about rock band The National
7:00 p.m., Friday, November 14 at KDHX, 3425 Washington Ave.

20,000 Days on Earth
Documentary about musician Nick Cave.
9:00 p.m., Friday, November 14 at KDHX

Strictly Sacred
Documentary about the rock band Girl Trouble.
3:00 p.m., Saturday, November 15 at KDHX

The Winding Stream
Documentary about country music's Carter and Cash families, including the Original Carter Family, the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle, June Carter and Johnny Cash, and "the efforts of present-day family members to keep the legacy alive."
5:30 p.m., Saturday, November 15 at KDHX

Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back
"An inspiring chronicle of the rise, fall, and resurrection of '80s metal band Quiet Riot."
8:00 p.m., Saturday, November 15 at KDHX

We Don't Wanna Make You Dance
Documentary following members of aspiring funk band Miller, Miller, Miller & Sloan from their teenage years in 1983 NYC through adulthood 25 years later.
1:00 p.m., Sunday, November 16 at KDHX

Bob Reuter's Last Tape
Documentary about the late St. Louis musician, photographer and radio host, accompanied by a concert by Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost
7:30 p.m., Sunday, November 16 at KDHX

Nas: Time is Illmatic
Documentary about hip-hop performer Nas (son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara).
FREE screening at 7:00 p.m., Monday, November 17 at the Tivoli Theatre, 6350 Delmar

Cupcakes
An Israeli comedy about a group of friends who enter a song in "the wildly popular UniverSong competition." 2:10 p.m., Friday, November 21 & 9:15 p.m., Sunday, November 23 at Plaza Frontenac Cinema 

Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets
Documentary about the British rock band, its lead singer Jarvis Cocker, and their hometown, "the industrially cratered landscape of Sheffield."
8:00 p.m., Friday, November 21 at KDHX

Rubber Soul
"A provocative documentary/narrative hybrid" about John Lennon of the Beatles.
4:00 p.m., Saturday, November 22 at KDHX

A Hard Day’s Night
A 50th anniversary screening of the Beatles' musical comedy presented with a multi-course meal prepared by chef Liz Schuster of Tenacious Eats and drinks from Cocktails are Go. (Tickets are NOT available for the film only.)
6:00 p.m., Saturday, November 22 at the Centene Center for Arts & Education, 3547 Olive Blvd.

Tribute to Roberta Collins
The history of exploitation filmmaker Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, explored via the life of actress Roberta Collins by Screen Syndicate, an offshoot of Southern Illinois-based Americana band Stace England and the Salt Kings. Shown as part of a double bill with Caged Heat, which co-starred Collins.
8:00 p.m., Saturday, November 22 at KDHX 

When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen Ra & the Theremin
Documentary about thereminist Armen Ra
1:00 p.m., Sunday, November 23 at KDHX

Jingle Bell Rocks
"A loving look at Christmas songs that seldom crack the charts but burrow into the hearts and minds of people looking for an alternative to the holiday standards."
3:30 p.m., Sunday, November 23 at KDHX

Finding Fela!
A documentary about Nigerian singer, saxophonist, bandleader and political activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, directed by Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney.
6:00 p.m., Sunday, November 23 at KDHX

Most individual tickets are $12 each, $10 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with current, valid ID. Some special programs will have a fixed $15 ticket price, including opening night.

Advance tickets for screenings at the Tivoli and Plaza Frontenac are available at their respective box offices from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m,. Monday-Friday and 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday; or online at http://tickets.landmarktheatres.com/. Advance tickets for films shown at KDHX and Webster University are available through Brown Paper Tickets.

For more information, visit the official SLIFF website.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Aloha Dean

Really appreciate your comprehensive blog…..I'm just wondering why you don't post Friday night jazz at the Cigar Inn in Belleville. Matt Villanger plays with Freddie Washington tonight

Dean Minderman said...

Thanks for reading and commenting, Patrick.
Gigs are added to the calendar as soon as I get the info (and can make time to do the updating), and if you check the calendar, you'll see that the specific one you mention this week is indeed listed.
Here's the thing: Some venues do not send in their info in advance, and so each week, I have to wait for them to post it online. Cigar Inn sometimes doesn't put info online about a given Friday's show until Tuesday or sometimes Wednesday, which is usually after the weekly "jazz this week" post is written and/or posted. If they'd send me their info in advance, I'd be able to highlight their shows more often.