The Scopitone program of the 47th International Film Festival Rotterdam will feature eight documentaries that view music as a social movement. Amidst a lively and inviting atmosphere with talks, bands and an open bar during the screening, visitors and experts alike explore the social significance of music.

Among the confirmed titles are gems from all corners of the (music) world. The international premiere of The Ballad of Shirley Collins by Rob Curry and Tim Plester follows the iconic British folk singer Shirley Collins who tries to regain at a late age the voice she once lost. Bruk Out! A Dance Hall Queen Documentary by Cori McKenna gives a raw and energetic look into the lives of six powerful women striving to become Dance Hall Queens.

Tommie Smith’s The Groove is Not Trivial is a story about cultural revival in which master fiddler Alasdair Fraser digs deep into his Scottish musical roots. And Olancho by Theodore Griswold and Christopher Valdes shows the dangerous world of narco ballads in Honduras. When groups like Los Plebes de Olancho sing for one drug cartel, they get threatened by another. Band member Manuel Chirinos felt forced to flee the country and tells his story.