Filmic returns with Geoff Barrow, film seasons and big Colston Hall shows

Even before the advent of talkies, films were never completely silent. There was always a little fella bashing away at a piano to complement the action onscreen. But in recent years, the importance of film music has begun to be recognised and its popularity has boomed, with packed screenings of classic movies accompanied by full orchestras at major venues.

Clearly, Bristol’s Filmic (film + music = filmic, geddit?) is an annual celebration whose time has come. A three-way collaboration between Mark Cosgrove at the Watershed, Phil Johnson at St. George’s and Todd Wills at the Colston Hall, Filmic grew out of discussions about their shared interest in the creative connections between music and film. “In the film world, you often think the key relationships are between the director and scriptwriter, actors and cinematographer. But actually, some of the best relationships are between the filmmaker and the musician,” explains Mark. “Ennio Morricone composed his music and Sergio Leone would play it on set, for example.”

Filmic 18, which runs until May, includes audio-visual performances at St. George’s; screenings of Spielberg classics Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws at the Colston Hall, accompanied by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra (Jurassic Park follows in September at the Hippodrome); and a focus on the sounds of science fiction at the Watershed, with screenings of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, Alien, The Terminator and Arrival, the highlight being Ben Salisbury and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow discussing the creation of their unsettling score for Alex Garland’s Ex Machina. A separate programme focusing on the sound of suspense runs until March 25 with Inception.

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Given what Mark describes as the “tiddly, widdly, piddly” budget, they’ve had to be creative to pull some of these events under the Filmic umbrella. The Spielberg screenings, for example, are part of a national tour, while the widely released Nick Cave concert film Distant Sky is branded as a Filmic event at the Watershed. But the organisers are certainly thinking big for the future, with dream bookings on Mark’s hitlist including Jonny Greenwood and Tangerine Dream. “Phil and I often have conversations like, ‘Hey, let’s get Angelo Badalamenti to come along and perform live, or David Lynch to curate the city with an immersive soundscape that hangs over Bristol.’ I’d love to get Ry Cooder. Obviously, it’d be great to do one of his gigs at the Colston. But, ‘Oh, here’s an acoustic guitar, here’s Watershed Cinema One, here’s Paris, Texas. Do you fancy just playing along?'”

These things aren’t completely impossible, despite the budgetary constraints. One of Filmic’s biggest coups was getting Philip Glass to come to Bristol in 2014. While rehearsing his Colston Hall show, the great minimalist was also lured over to the Watershed to introduce a screening of Scorsese’s Kundun – part of a programme of films with Glass scores – much to the surprise of the audience. The key, says Mark, is to appreciate that the interests of these people are much wider than just their music. “When you ask them about something other than what they’re known for, you can get a much more interesting conversation out of them. One of the great experiences for me has been talking to Adrian Utley not about Portishead, but about Bernard Herrmann’s score for Taxi Driver.”

The huge success of big concert hall screenings with live orchestras has taken many by surprise. “I think it’s brilliant that these have taken off,” enthuses Mark. “It’s something that has always existed, but not on this scale. The game changer was La La Land. Usually it’s films that are in the repertoire or the canon – classics that you dust down and re-present. But La La Land was a new film, and within six to nine months there were screenings with live music.”

He thinks several cultural and technological factors are at play. “The music’s definitely being taken more seriously. Previously, it was either not thought about, or thought of as a bit of an adjunct – apart from memorable things like the shower scene in Psycho or the Jaws theme. Over time, the work of these composers has become much more respected. Presenting it at the Proms has helped. At the same time, digital technology now allows you to screen the films without having to have either 35mm or 70mm projectors. So you can get a brilliant big image and take the music off.

“The score then just comes alive with the musicians in a way that it doesn’t so much when you’re watching the film. It becomes a performance. And audiences are responding fantastically to it.”