Doc’n Roll Festival

 Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten

Doc’n Roll, London’s first and only festival dedicated exclusively to music documentaries, announced its full line up of 12 films, many followed by Q&As, taking place at Hackney Picturehouse. In addition to live sets from Ming City Rockers and The ‘45s as well as DJ sets from Primal Scream’s Simone Marie Butler and photographer and filmmaker Dean Chalkley, the line-up also features an exclusive Julien Temple retrospective on Saturday 27th September, screening Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, LONDON: The Modern Babylon and, following the screening of Oil City Confidential, an on-stage conversation with Julien Temple and Zoe Howe, author and Dr Feelgood expert. Temple will also show a sneak preview, via an exclusive clip, of his upcoming documentary about Wilko Johnson. 

On Thursday, September 25th, Doc’n Roll opens with the London premiere of A Band Called Death; the extraordinary and little known story of the world’s first black punk band, Death, formed by three brothers from Detroit in 1974. Then the African-American community was grooving to Earth, Wind & Fire, and there was no room for a black, garage band turning out loud, aggressive rock ‘n’ roll – a sound that has since been described by the New York Times as, “punk before punk was punk’ and by Jack White as “ahead of punk, and ahead of their time”. A Q&A will follow the screening of A Band Called Death with band members, Bobby and Dannis Hackney. 

 On Sunday 28th Doc’n Roll will close with Howard S Bergman and Susan Stahman’s A Life in the Death of Joe Meek which, through contributions from a cast of musicians including Jimmy Page, Alex Kapranos, Edwyn Collins and Mike Berry, offers a fascinating insight into the life of Britain’s first independent pop record producer. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Howard Berger, and Mike Berry whose first hit “A Tribute to Buddy Holly’ was produced by Meek in 1961 and chaired by author and Meek enthusiast Travis Elborough.

Her Aim Is True

On Saturday 26th British filmmaker Karen Whitehead will screen the UK premiere of Her Aim Is True which tells the story of rock ‘n’ roll outsider, the wonderful photographer Jini Dellaccio, who recently passed away, aged 97. Dellaccio first found herself taking pictures of rock and pop stars in the 1960s – when she herself was in her 40s – and she is now described as the photographer who visualized punk before it had a name and embodied indie before it was cool. Whitehead, who interviewed Dellaccio for her film, will be at the screening for a Q&A session. 

 Another punk rock pioneer Grant Hart is the subject of Gorman Bechard’s Every Everything: the music, life & times of Grant Hart, an unfiltered, unrestrained look in to the former Hüsker Dü co-songwriter/singer/drummer’s world including his rocky family life, the formation and consequent break-up of his most well-known band and all of the musical projects that followed.

The Doc‘n Roll line-up also includes portraits of two great talents. Sophie Huber’s Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction is a mesmerizing, impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor which explores his enigmatic outlook on his life, his unexploited talents as a musician, and includes candid scenes with David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Sam Shepard, Kris Kristofferson and Debbie Harry.

William Hechter’s AKA Doc Pomus tells the story of Brooklyn-born Jerome Felder (1925-1991), who was paralyzed with polio as a child. As a teenager he began performing as a blues singer under the stage name Doc Pomus. By the 1950’s he had become one of the most successful songwriters of the early rock and roll era, penning, “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Viva Las Vegas,” and dozens of other hits. Featuring interviews with Doc’s collaborators and friends, including Dr. John, Ben E. King, Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Dion, Leiber and Stoller, and B.B. King plus passages from his private journals read by his close friend, Lou Reed.

Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton

 Jeff Broadway’s Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton features interviews and footage from some of hip-hop’s finest, discussing the fiercely independent, avant-garde record label, Stones Throw Records. Home to innovative leftfield producers like Madlib and J Dilla, the Stones Throw story is laced with tragedy, yet the label owner’s single-minded pursuit of the music he loves, ensures it continues as a vital force in the digital music era. The film features exclusive interviews with Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Common, Questlove, Talib Kweli, Mike D (Beastie Boys), and many more.

 Also screening are Danny Garcia’s Looking for Johnny, a new documentary on the life of the late New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist Johnny Thunders. Garcia, spoke to the fifty people who were closest to the rocker, about his music, which inspired punk and glam-metal, and his hard lifestyle and explores Johnny’s unique musical style, his personal battle with drugs and theories on his death in a New Orleans hotel in 1991 at age 38, and, last but not least The Punk Syndrome about the Finnish punk band – Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day. 

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The first ever Doc’n Roll Festival featuring international music documentaries and a rare retrospective of one of the greatest music doc filmmakers will take place September 25 to 28 at Hackney Picturehouse in London, England.  With more than a dozen documentaries showing over four days, the line-up will include premieres, Q&As and special live events. 

For the inaugural 4-day festival, the retrospective strand will focus on the work of British director Julien Temple, with docs including Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten and LONDON The Modern Babylon plus a Q&A session with Temple following a screening of Oil City Confidential which will include an exclusive opportunity to see a teaser from his upcoming doc about Wilko Johnson.

 Oil City Confidential (2009) tells the story of Dr. Feelgood, a four-piece band who emerged from Cavney Island in the 1970s to conquer Europe and top the UK charts. With contributions from members of The Clash, Blondie and The Sex Pistols plus collaborators Jools Holland and Alison Moyet. In Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007), Temple draws on his close friendship and shared punk history to celebrate the life and legacy of Joe Strummer, before, during and after The Clash. In LONDON The Modern Babylon (2012), Temple draws on a century of music and film archive to tell the story of London’s epic journey through 100 years of cultural upheaval and reinvention. Among the line-up of familiar faces are David Bowie, Ray Davies, Bishi, Mick Jagger, Malcolm McLaren as well as the ordinary people of London from all walks of life. The extraordinary soundtrack spans 100 years of London music including iconic tracks from the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Small Faces, Lily Allen, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, The Kinks, Madness, Bob Marley through to Tommy Trinder, Max Bygraves, Vera Lynn, Lonnie Donnegan, Murray Johnson and Robert Burns, plus many more.

Also included in the Doc’n Roll line-up is the London Premiere of the American doc directed by Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlet about the first black punk band (or arguably the first ever punk band). A Band Called Death (2012) looks at the three teenage brothers who dared to be different during the 1970s Motown and Disco era. Whilst their music may have been ahead of their time, three decades later Death’s music was rediscovered by a new audience and the band finally received the recognition they deserved.

Looking for Johnny (2014), a documentary on the life of the late New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist Johnny Thunders, will also be included in this year’s program. Director Danny Garcia talked to the fifty people who were closest to the rocker about his music which inspired punk and glam-metal and his hard lifestyle which lead to his untimely demise at 38.

Main festival screenings will take place at Hackney Picturehouse.

 Full program to be announced early September. 

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