Film / News
Doc’n Roll film festival returns with more compelling music stories
Doc’n Roll, the female-run film festival championing marginal voices in the music industry, returns to Bristol in May with a small but perfectly formed programme of illuminating documentaries about cult artists who died before their time.
First up on May 25 is the Bristol premiere of In a Silent Way, in which tenacious Belgian director Gwenaël Breës sets out to make a film about a band that doesn’t want to be filmed. The band in question is Brit synth-poppers turned art-rockers Talk Talk, whose 1988 album Spirit of Eden made a huge impression on the 14-year-old Breës. Trouble is that up until his death in 2019, singer Mark Hollis refused all interview requests and the rest of the band followed suit. What’s more they declined permission to use any of their music in the film. Pointless exercise or fascinating account of a superfan’s quest? You decide.
As the title suggests, In My Own Time: A Portrait of Karen Dalton (May 26) tells the story of New York folkie Dalton, who did the Nick Drake thing by performing infrequently, living a messy and rather sad life, rarely being filmed or photographed and dying young, leading to the inevitable cult reputation. Among her champions is Nick Cave, who appears in the film.
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Another artist who secured cult status by dying young is David McComb of eighties Australian band The Triffids. They too achieved plenty of critical acclaim but little commercial success. McComb’s tragic story is told in Love in Bright Landscapes: The Story of David McComb and The Triffids (May 28).
The Doc’n Roll film festival takes place at the Watershed. Go here for further information and tickets.
Main pic: Karen Dalton. Photo by Joe Loop courtesy of Abralyn Baird
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