Just like the movies it shows, TCFF has a soundtrack - and it's comprised of some of the best musicians and bands in the state. Live music will feature in predominantly all six days of the festival, playing before screenings, at TCFF parties and in late-night jam sessions around town. Look for live music to play before every festival screening, in addition to special planned performances throughout TC. Here's where to get your music fix this week.
TCFF Film Lounge
Musicians will perform daily from 1:30-6:00 p.m. at the outdoor TCFF Film Lounge in Lay Park on Union Street, near the Boardman River. The tented area will also provide festival-goers with a free gathering space to meet between screenings, relax and discuss films.
Open Space Performances
Check out a free special performance nightly prior to the dusk screenings at the Open Space park, located at Union and Grandview Parkway. Each night's performance is designed to fit with the theme of the movie. Music will start at 7 p.m. nightly, with the final act starting around 8:45 p.m. The full lineup is as follows:
Tuesday: Young Adult Night - Movie: "Men In Black", Music: Mue Sephei, Mike Moran and Phenomenal Head
Wednesday: Techie Night - Movie: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", Music: Jimmy Olson and Emmy-winner Jeff "Jabo" Bihlman
Thursday: Hippie Night - Movie: "Hair", Music: Rootstand and Luke Winslow King
Friday: Teenager Night - Movie: "Goonies", Music: Levi Britton and The Injured List
Saturday: Kids Night - Movie: "Big", Music: Acoustic Dynamite, Andrew Sturtz and Ruby John
For more information on the Open Space films, click here.
After Hours Concerts
New this year to TCFF are "After Hours" concerts in three venues around the community. The "After Hours" lineup is as follows:
Wednesday, July 29 - Phenomenal Head and Mue Sephei will perform at Lil Bo Pub and Cafe at the west end of Front Street
Thursday, July 30 - Egon and Luke Winslow King will perform at The Loading Dock on Cass Street
Saturday, August 1 - The Injured List will perform at the Terminal nightclub on South Garfield Road
The Lil Bo & Terminal shows are set up as jam sessions, with all musicians playing the festival this year invited to attend and play.
TCFF Parties
No party is complete without great music. Luckily, we've got the best of the best providing the soundtrack to all of the TCFF parties this week:
Sunday, July 26 - On Quartet and Manitou Trumpeteers will perform at the Founders Party at Ciccone Vineyards.
Tuesday, July 28 - Rojo Loco and Charlie's Root Fusion will play live on Front Street during the opening night street party from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Jazz North will also perform later that evening at the Opening Party in the Wade Trim parking lot.
Saturday, August 1 - Academy Award-winner Jeff Gibbs and the Wild Sullys will perform at the Filmmakers Party in the Wade Trim parking lot.
Sunday, August 2 - The Dawn Campbell Band will perform at the Closing Night Party at the Historic Front Lawn at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.
BDJ's DJs will be on hand at all of the parties to provide great music between live acts. For more information on TCFF parties, click here.
TCFF Fifth Anniversary CD
For the third year running, a TCFF CD has been produced with cuts from many of the artists performing during the film festival. Those featured on the new fifth anniversary compilation include John Rajewski, Mike Moran, Jeff Bihlman, David Chown with the DC3, Andrew Sturtz, Glenn Wolff and Don Julin, The Injured List, Phenomenal Head, Jeff Gibbs, Egon, Tom Kaufmann, Youth Zoo, Mue Sephei, White Wolf Black Bear, New Third Coast, Robin Lee Berry and the Wild Sullys.
The CD is being sold at the festival box office, store and cybercafé located at 300 E. Front and will be available at all festival venues. The cost for the CD is $15, with proceeds benefiting the Traverse City Film Festival and State Theatre.
 Tomorrow (Tuesday, July 28) from 5-9 PM there will be a Traverse City Film Festival Opening Kick Off Street Party on Front Street between Park and Union.
The event is free and features amazing balloon sculptures by New York artist Jason Hackenwerth, music by Charlie's Root Fusion and Rojo Loco, and a 6 p.m. opening ceremony with Michael Moore, honoring 2009 Michigan Filmmaker Award Recipient Rich Brauer.
Come on down - bring your friends and celebrate the opening of year 5 of the Traverse City Film Festival!
"The five Great Lakes. They pour through the heart of North America and the lives of 35 million lucky people who have plenty to drink in a thirsty world. In that journey, lies the story of the last great supply of fresh water on earth." So goes the trailer for "Waterlife," an ambitious new film from documentary filmmaker Kevin McMahon about the Great Lakes - both their endless beauty, and the paramount danger they face of being polluted beyond repair. We spoke with Kevin about the urgent challenges facing the world's largest supply (20%) of fresh water, and how his film is helping to sound the alarm.
Kevin McMahon
Traverse City Film Festival: Particularly in Michigan, possessing the longest fresh water coastline in the world, we have never known anything but abundance when it comes to our water supply. Intellectually, we can acknowledge global issues like drought and a crisis shortage of clean water, but in practice, it's impossible for us to fully appreciate that reality. Before even getting into the issue of pollution and how to address that, how do you first help audiences who treat the Great Lakes as a backyard birthright to understand the magnitude of the resource they have?
Kevin McMahon: That was my first motivation in making "Waterlife" - getting people to appreciate the lakes. I've lived on the Great Lakes all my life. I grew up on the Niagara Falls and now live in Toronto. I'm sure people in Traverse City and smaller communities appreciate the lakes and their beauty. But people who live in the big cities – Chicago, Detroit, etc. - are often more oblivious to it. To them, the lake is just this massive blue/gray thing behind the highway.
I tried to give a sense of the enormity of the lakes in the film. We start on the northern shore of Lake Superior and follow the water all the way out to the Atlantic. Along the way, we capture all of the various kinds of structures and buildings and lives the water intersects with. I also wanted to capture the beauty of the lakes to the greatest extent possible. There is a lot of footage of the landscapes around the lakes, one notably on Sleeping Bear, and we shot in a lot of smaller communities like Leland. We tried to show the lakes from every possible angle, so we have all kinds of underwater, aeriel, slow-motion shots. There is an amazing amount of footage of the beauty of the lakes in the film.
Still from "Waterlife"
TCFF: Many people seem to have an inherent belief that our water supply is indestructible - that there's nothing we can do that could possibly jeopardize something on the scale of the Great Lakes. But your film argues that that's a far cry from the truth. In fact, some scientists are now saying the lakes are on the verge of ecological collapse. What are the challenges facing our water supply, and how did you try and capture those and make them comprehensible in the film?
KM: Well it's now at the point where the changes are tangible, because the water level is dropping on many lakes. On Lake Superior it's remarkable - everyone notices it. People who boat on the shoreline especially notice it, because they have to drive carefully now to avoid shallow spots and rocks where before they could go whizzing through.
The challenges to the lakes are two-fold: it's stuff we're putting into the water, and it's invasive species. In the first case, there are toxins from industry and poisons going in, or that have gone in historically, to the water supply. Thirty years ago, factories just dumped whatever they wanted into the lakes. As a result, there are now some 40 hot spots the government has identified as being grossly polluted. Look down by Chicago and Gary – the shoreline is obliterated there. And yet, dioxins and poisons continue to be dumped in every day.
Still from "Waterlife"
Sewage is also an issue. Almost every municipality on the lakes has an antiquated sewage system, and is consequently dumping sewage into the water. Typically what happens is that when it rains, the system overflows and sewage goes into the lakes. One of the worst examples is Bay City on Saginaw Bay – they get washes of muck into the bay there that are so toxic, if you walk into the water when it's present, you will literally get boils on your leg. We show that in the film. Pharmaceuticals also play a role in this. People don't know this, but you can go out and drop a pail anywhere in Lake Michigan - anywhere - and test it, and the results will come back positive for Prozac. The sewers haven't been built to filter these pharmaceuticals out, so they're going into our water supply.
With invasive species, because of the shipping coming into the lakes from Europe, they're bringing in critters not indigenous to the Great Lakes. There are no predators for them, so they flourish. Commercial fishery has essentially been wiped out on the lakes because of invasive species like lamprey and zebra mussels. That's why Leland is now a tourist town, instead of the fishing town it used to be.
TCFF: As we've already seen in many other examples, until an environmental crisis reaches the point where it has a profound, direct impact on us personally, many people simply aren't motivated enough to care or change the status quo. How do you combat audience passivity on this topic? What are the consequences of apathy if the situation in the Great Lakes continues unaddressed?
KM: One noticeable economic impact is that commercial fishery is now gone in the state, which contributes to the unemployment rate and economic woes. But the most pressing issue, what this all comes down to, is that all of us are being poisoned by the lakes. That's the bottom line. For example, some of the chemicals coming into the water right now mimic estrogen, so the birth rate is going down for males, up for females. There's one community we show near an industrial zone where they have two girls born for every boy, and a phenomenal rate of miscarriages. That's a worst-case scenario, but we're all getting these chemicals in our bodies. If you're a female, you will pass it down to your children. They will then get more and more exposure, pass it on to their children, and the cycle builds. These chemicals mess with our genetics - they increase our rates for cancer, for disease, for defects.
Still from "Waterlife"
Many people think that with the Great Lakes, there's so much water that everything's diluted, but that's not the case. These chemicals have half-lives of hundreds of years. They aren't breaking down, they're not going away. Most don't bind with water and aren't soluble – they drop into the sediment and lie there. So the mud is poisoned at the bottom of the lakes, the water levels are dropping, and then when a storm or a big ship goes through, it stirs up the bottom and the chemicals get resuspended into the water. They then get into our food supply, or up to the surface and are evaporated and then rained on us…it doesn't stop.
TCFF: For all the reasons you just mentioned, it will be easy for people to feel outraged when watching "Waterlife." But it will be just as easy for them to then walk out of the theater, and go about their lives unchanged. At that point, your important message film essentially becomes another piece of entertainment. As a filmmaker, do you feel you've done your duty by acting the part of messenger and spreading the word about this issue? Or do you feel any additional responsibilities to inspire the audience to get involved or for you to be a change agent on this issue?
KM: My answer to that is somewhat complex. I'm first and foremost a filmmaker. My job is to try and connect with each individual audience member and make a change in the way they see the world. Most of my films deal with things you already know, but I try and make you see them in a new way. So my first job is to make sure that when people come out of this film and see the lakes, they look at them differently.
Still from "Waterlife"
My second job is to get the film into a community of people for whom it can be useful. Environmental groups have been using the film, and we are showing it at colleges and in small communities. If someone is moved to action, they can easily pursue that through our website and connect to an environmental group that is doing something in their area. It's important to create a way people can act, so they don't feel helpless.
TCFF: Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip narrates “Waterlife,” and your soundtrack features some well-known indie bands, including Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros, Sam Roberts, Robbie Robertson and Brian Eno. You also talk on your website about your struggles in the editing room and trying to make a film that's palatable for audiences. Can you talk about your choices in editing and in the artists you worked with in terms of making the project appealing to mainstream audiences, while at the same time not diluting your message?
KM: We used pop music firstly because so many environmental films use these doom & gloom kinds of scores, and it's just so depressing. Actually, it's funny you mention this because I've been making documentaries for 25 years, and one of the people I've learned from is Michael Moore. Something he's shown all of us documentary filmmakers is that by giving a pop veneer to our films, it can make them more appealing to the public and to young people. It's hard to do because pop music is expensive, but in our case, we cut footage of the film to the music and sent the clips to the artists, and all of them gave us a break because they believed in our message. There is also humor in the film, something Michael does well, and us trying to have some fun, so that it's not all unremittingly heavy. We do that with the hope that it will appeal to a broader audience, which so far has been the case. Wherever it's played we've had good reception, and young people getting pissed off, which is exactly what you want. [laughs]
Still from "Waterlife"
TCFF: What has the reaction been like to "Waterlife" on the festival/art house circuit? Is there anything you're looking forward to in particular at the Traverse City Film Festival?
KM: We don't have a distributor in the United States yet, so we've been working with theaters directly, mostly smaller screenings. Traverse City is really the first big American screening we'll have. I'll be very curious to see how it goes over there. Because Michigan is the Great Lakes State and parts of the film were filmed in your region, I would hope it would click with people there.
In general, the response has been amazing. People have loved the film and been grateful to us for making it. There have been many films about the Great Lakes, but never one that tried to take on what was happening in the way this one does. It seems to be filling a vacuum, and people have responded strongly. Our mission is to tell the story of what's happening in these lakes, and get it into the hands of people who need to see it. As long as that's happening, we're happy.
"Waterlife" is playing Wednesday, July 29 at noon at Lars Hockstad Auditorium and 6:00 p.m. at Milliken Auditorium, and Thursday, July 30 at 6:00 p.m. at the State Theatre. For ticket information, click here.
"Rachel," showing at this year's Traverse City Film Festival, is a powerful, emotionally and politically devastating documentary by director Simone Bitton that tells the story of Rachel Corrie, a 22-year-old American activist who was run over and killed while trying to prevent an Israeli bulldozer from demolishing Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip. Rachel's parents, Craig & Cindy Corrie, will accompany the film to the festival and attend its screenings, as well as sit on the "Palestine and Vine" panel on Thursday, July 30. We spoke to Craig & Cindy about their daughter's life and work, the circumstances surrounding her death, and the documentary that is shining a renewed spotlight on her story.
Craig & Cindy Corrie
Traverse City Film Festival: Rachel's story and the details of her death were well-documented in the American media, and in many ways came to symbolize the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and America's role in that struggle. For those who may not have heard Rachel's story, can you share what motivated her to become a peace activist in the Middle East and what the circumstances were surrounding her death in 2003?
Cindy Corrie: Rachel was interested in social justice issues from a very young age. At the time 9/11 happened, she was a college student and was taking a class called Local Knowledge, which focused on how events on the local level fit into the global scale. 9/11 shifted what every student in that class was doing. When it became apparent that our response to the attack was going to be retaliation in Afghanistan and possibly Iraq, the peace movement resurfaced in a big way. 9/11 sent Rachel on a search to figure out why that attack happened, which led her to studying the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Still from "Rachel"
That summer, many of the students traveled with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to the Middle East. ISM has two mandates: Freedom for Palestinian people, and the use of non-violent forms of resistance. One of Rachel's friends returned from that trip and talked to her about Gaza and the great need for people from ISM to be there. Rachel studied Gaza, and it became her view that it was the most forsaken of the occupied territories. She felt she needed to be there. Like many families, ours was pretty removed from this issue - we didn't know what was going on there. But she studied Arabic, she bought us books so we could learn about the conflict. Then, in early 2003, she finally traveled there.
Craig Corrie: We didn't financially support her going. I spent 1970 in the military in Vietnam, and I learned from that experience, you don't volunteer to go. I didn't give her money, because I didn't want to facilitate her leaving. [Pauses] I wish I had. Because I wanted her to know - and by the end, she knew - how proud I was of her. But we were afraid. The scene she was describing, based on my experience, was a military out of control.
Cindy: We would have preferred she didn't go. But I knew how important it was for her to define her own path. She thought and felt very deeply; she needed to do something meaningful with her life. My approach was to listen and become informed and support her the best I could.
On March 16, 2003, Rachel joined a group of seven ISM activists attempting to prevent Israeli bulldozers from demolishing Palestinian homes. As she stood in front of the home of local pharmacist Samir Nasrallah, she was struck down and killed by an Israeli Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer. Reports disputed whether the killing was intentional, or whether the driver did not see Rachel and accidentally hit her. The event caused immediate political controversy and generated international media coverage.
TCFF: Since Rachel's death, there has been a steadily increasing movement to share her words and experiences with a broader audience, including her published emails, a play, the Rachel Corrie Foundation website and now this film. What was your reaction to this film being made, and to the final product?
Craig: Simone (Bitton)'s film may be the closest thing we ever get to an investigation into Rachel's death. We are still seeking accountability for what happened to our daughter. [Note: The Corries have filed a civil lawsuit against Israel over Rachel's killing, with a court date set for March of 2010 - the seventh anniversary of her death.] It's not completely comprehensive - no film could be - but it does focus on important issues around Rachel's case.
Cindy: The film provides a wonderful window into the human experience of the impact of her death and how that affected people. It's also a heartfelt expression of why and how people resist when they believe their government is doing something wrong. Anyone who has experienced a loss like we have will know what I mean when I say we live with it every day of our lives.
Vigil in Olympia, Wash.
TCFF: Rachel died defending a Palestinian home, at the hands of an Israeli bulldozer. You have stated - and the U.S. State Department confirmed this - that there has not yet been a "credible and thorough" investigation into her death. Yet you've also stated many times that you do not take sides in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, that you are not anti-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. Given the circumstances of her death, and how fraught this issue is politically in the States, how have you been able to maintain that objectivity?
Craig: We are pro-human rights on this issue. The week after Rachel was killed, we received over 10,000 emails from around the world. A stranger named Bernie, who was Jewish, wrote us to say that he had a half-sister named Rachel who was killed in the Holocaust. He wrote, "Now I will live my life for two Rachels." [Pauses, voice cracks] You can't get an email from a stranger like that and confuse a military out of control with the Jewish people. It's not good guys and bad guys. It's bad actions, and also, extraordinarily generous actions.
Cindy: We're pro-people, but we're very against the Israeli occupation of Palestine. It's a humbling experience as an American to visit the Middle East and see the destruction there and know the role our country is playing in that. The question at the time of Rachel's death shouldn't have been, "What was Rachel doing there?" It should've been, "What were the bulldozers doing there? What is our money doing there?" Our view is, our tax dollars helped pay for the bulldozer that killed our daughter. The task Rachel left us with is to try and help Americans realize our responsibility in what's happening over there, as well as our ability to change the situation.
TCFF: "Rachel" had its U.S. premiere at Tribeca earlier this year. What has the reaction to the film been like so far? How does its message fit into the message of Rachel's work and life?
Cindy: We weren't sure what to expect initially, but the reception has been wonderful. The film seems to really have a strong impact on audiences. In the movie, it shows how justice can be held hostage by politics, but also demonstrates how people who witness injustice can carry on and maintain their heart in spite of tremendous obstacles. Rachel refused to ignore marginalized people. Whether it was the homeless, the mentally ill, or the oppressed…she cared for them.
Craig: What I think Rachel demonstrated is that you have to act on your values. Without action, what you believe doesn't mean a thing. Values are not something to be discussed with friends over wine. They're meant to be acted upon. That's what Rachel did.
Rachel Corrie
"Rachel" plays Wednesday, July 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Town Playhouse and Thursday, July 30 at noon at the State Theatre during the Traverse City Film Festival. For ticket information, click here.
TCFF organizers released the first details on this year's fifth anniversary film fest (July 28-August 2) earlier this morning. There is some great stuff on the lineup, including a new TCFF Kids Festival, the Midwest premiere of "Julia & Julia" (starring Meryl Streep), a special 40th anniversary screening of the newly restored director's cut of "Woodstock" with Woodstock legend Wavy Gravy in attendance, an in-person tribute to writer/director/actor Paul Mazursky, and a new TCFF Film School.
The full festival schedule will be released July 2 - less than two weeks from now. It's hard to believe it's coming up so fast! Stay tuned here for more details as they are released. In the meantime, click here to read this morning's announcement in full, or scan below for highlights.
2009 TCFF Highlights
- Festival Kickoff - July 28, featuring the Opening Night Party in Wade Trim Parking Lot. There will also be a free dusk screening of "Men in Black" to kick off the week's Open Space series.
- Paul Mazursky tribute - Mazursky's filmography includes "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," "Moscow on the Hudson," "Harry and Tonto" "Enemies: A Love Story" and several others, as well as appearances on shows ranging from "The Sopranos" to "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Mazursky will attend the fest with his family and be present at several screenings.
- Closing Night Film - Midwest Premiere of "Julia & Julia," starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, directed by Nora Ephron.
- 40th Anniversary Screening of "Woodstock" - Featuring a live appearance by Wavy Gravy, as well as a doc on WG called "Saint Misbehavin'." The doc's director and producer will be in attendance.
- TCFF Kids Festival - Featuring award-winning independent children's films from around the world. Wed-Sat at 9:30 a.m. at the State Theatre; reduced tickets for $6.
- TCFF Film School - Opportunity for audiences to meet a different filmmaker each day, who will show his/her film and answer questions. More details coming soon.
- Open Space Lineup - Tuesday: "Men in Black," Wednesday: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Thursday: "Hair," Friday: "Goonies," Saturday: "Big." Sunday will be a makeup rain date if necessary.
- Food Vendors in Open Space - Including That'sa Pizza, House of Doggs, Espresso Bay, Aw…Shucks roasted corn, Why Knot Hot Baked Pretzels, Opa! and American Spoon Foods gelato.
- Film Festival Box Office - The TCFF Box Office/Store/Cybercafe will be located again on the main floor of Radio Centre on E. Front St. Rest, watch film trailers, enjoy free coffee and check the Internet/email on the computer stations. Tickets/merch will be available for sale on-site. Tickets go on sale to Friends of the Festival on Sunday, July 12 at noon (walk-up only; tickets go on sale online/by phone at 6:00 p.m. that night). Tickets for the general public go on sale Saturday, July 18 at noon for walk-ups or 6:00 p.m. for online/phone. Admission will be the same as 2008 - $9 for regular tickets, $25 to Opening and Closing Night films, and $50 for Opening/Closing Night parties.
- Downtown Merchant Window Contest - Downtown merchants are encouraged to create film festival-themed windows the week of the fest. Prizes will be awarded for board and fan favorites.
- Child Care - The Children's House will offer low-cost, licensed childcare for festivalgoers Wednesday-Sunday. To learn more, click here.
- Sponsors & Volunteers - Without them, the festival wouldn't exist. To learn more about becoming a sponsor and enjoying perks like tickets to the Founders Party, early admittance to festival screenings, green room access at sponsored screenings and sponsor wear, contact 231-392-1134 or terry@traversecityfilmfestival.org. For more details on the hundreds of great volunteer shifts that are available, click here.
During last summer's film festival, I ran into Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner of metal band Anvil downtown after they had just performed for a packed house at Lars Hockstad Auditorium. Though I missed the screening of "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" (Sacha Gervasi's documentary on the band) that preceded the concert, I'll never forget the band's show: thrashing, loud, and enthusiastically received by the mostly middle-aged, polite and decidedly non-metal crowd. The sight of '80s metal gods rocking out in my elementary school - and Michael Moore headbanging in the aisle - put a perma-grin on my face for the rest of the night.
Anvil Performing at Lars Hockstad Auditorium
But it was Lips and Robb themselves who left the biggest impression on me. Though every inch metal rockers in appearance, the frontmen - now middle-aged - were sweet, gracious and humble, still buzzing over the warm reception they had at the concert. "That was f*$&@#$ great, man," Lips enthused when I ran into him, rubbing his hands together. When I asked why the band is still playing together after all these years, chasing an elusive - and often embittering - dream of mega-success, Lips responded: "Because we are rockers, man. This is what we do. It's who we are. How do you stop being who you are?"
Why success has eluded a band as hard-working and talented as Anvil is the mystery at the center of Gervasi's movie, playing for a full theatrical run at the State this week. In the early '80s, Anvil shattered the rock scene with their groundbreaking heavy metal albums, paving the way for acts like Whitesnake, Anthrax and Metallica to come in. The leaders of those bands, all of whom broke through to superstardom, reflect on Anvil's influence in the movie's opening sequence.
"I remember thinking, 'They're going to turn the music world upside down,'" says Lars Ulrich of Metallica. Anthrax's Scott Ian was similarly mesmorized, recalling saying of the band: "If we can't be better than that, we should just go home." But it's Slash of Guns and Roses who finally - and chillingly - articulates what actually happened to Anvil: "As big as an influence as they had…everyone just ripped them off and left them for dead."
Robb & Lips of Anvil
That opening sequence - which interjects legendary rock musicians' memories of Anvil with concert footage of the band at the height of their popularity - dissolves into a heartbreaking present-day sequence in which Lips prepares for his day job delivering cafeteria meals to elementary schools. The cut from a 1984 Lips shredding on stage in a bondage harness before a crowd of thousands in Japan to today's Lips warming up the cafeteria meal delivery van is a deliberate visual transition on Gervasi's part. Within that edit lies the central cautionary message of the film: It's been a long, painful and ultimately disappointing road for these once former rock gods. The music industry, unforgiving as it can be, chewed and spit these men out before they even realized it was happening. And yet…
"Even though Anvil doesn't pay, it gives me the joy and happiness you need to get through life," Lips says to the camera at one point, genuine boyish enthusiasm on his face. "I mean, it couldn't be any worse. At least I can say that I did everything I possibly could [to get success]."
Robb echoes his bandmate's sentiments, stating: "Give me another stage and another party, and I'm happy." The band's families provide emotional (and sometimes financial) support for Anvil as they continue to chase success decades later - in spite of disastrous tours, a crippling lack of management and label support, and increasing unpaid debt. Watching the film, you sense the toll that years of working in the shadows, seeing their peers rise to the top of the charts while they struggle to put food on the table, has taken on these men…how the weight of missed opportunity bears down on them, still luring them with the possibility they might yet break through. The chance that they'll be able to silence once-and-for-all the critics, cynics and skeptics who doubted them along the way seems to drive Anvil ever forward in their pursuit of greatness. That, and an unabashed, undying love of rock & roll.
When you're playing before sold-out arenas, selling millions of albums and gracing the cover of rock magazines, it can become difficult over time to distinguish whether it's fame, money or the love of music that's ultimately driving the band. When you're playing for 20+ years to crowds of less than 100 in venues that could easily hold 10,000, that question has a tendency to melt away. For Anvil, it's always been - and always will be - about the music. As Lips said that warm festival night last summer, watching the crowds stream by him in downtown Traverse City: "This is what we do. It's who we are. How do you stop being who you are?"
"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" is playing daily now through Thursday at the State Theatre. For ticket information and showtimes, click here.
If you didn't have a chance to see either of the two indie gems that came through the State last week, I'd highly recommend checking them both out on DVD. "Wendy and Lucy," a perfect 80-minute portrait of loneliness, bittersweet dedication and the spiraling effects of poverty, is available on DVD now - find it at your local video store or Netflix. It's one of the more haunting movies I've seen lately; definitely worth the watch.
If you're looking for something more lighthearted, look up "The Great Buck Howard" (due out on DVD later this year), a sweet and funny romper featuring the pitch-perfect John Malkovich as an aging mentalist (don't call him a magician) who doesn't realize his time in the spotlight has passed. Colin Hanks and Emily Blunt round out the terrific cast of characters working to propel Buck back to the top again.
Finally, be sure to come down and see our next first-run at the State this week, a sleeper indie hit that's gaining momentum at art house theaters around the country. "Is Anybody There?" stars Michael Caine in one of his best roles to date, a retired magician (sense a theme?) who is forced to settle down in a nursing home and who eventually befriends the lonely 10-year-old son of the home's owners. If Michael Caine decided to star in "Hostel 3" I would go see it, but the trailer for this one alone put a smile on my face, so I'm excited to check it out. Look for a review up here shortly. In the meantime, you can find the complete schedule of showtimes for this and other movies playing at the State this week here.
Episode 2 (Aired March 23, 2009): Electric Bugaloo
Hosts: Dave Poinsett and Beth Milligan
Guests: Award-winning filmmaker John Walter ("Theater of War," "How to Draw a Bunny") and local film critic Tracy Kurtz (92.9 FM The Breeze)
Films/Topics Covered: "Revolutionary Road," Open House Week at the State - Including the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Terminator" night, daily Pixar screenings, "Titanic" night, "Gold Diggers of 1933," "Star Trek" night, Ben Stiller night, Hitchcock night, Chick Flick night and Vampire night. Seriously - we cover a lot of ground.
The episode in which Beth and Tracy go head to head over "Revolutionary Road," John dispenses "Pop-Up Video"-style film trivia throughout the show, and Dave explains the secret behind the State Theatre popcorn. Plus: The gang reviews the smorgasboard of free films coming up at next week's Open House.
Corrections: It will be the 250,000th, not 225,000th, guest to walk through the State's doors this month. Also, "Titanic" and "Khan" were misspelled in the trailer tags.
Episode 1 (Aired March 16, 2009): The Inaugural Show
Hosts: Dave Poinsett and Beth Milligan
Guests: Award-winning filmmaker John Walter ("Theater of War," "How to Draw a Bunny") and local film critic Tracy Kurtz (92.9 FM The Breeze)
Films/Topics Covered: "Frost/Nixon," "Jacquot de Nantes," "A Day at the Races," "An American Tail," "Witness to War," Metropolitan Opera HD broadcasts of "Madama Butterfly" and "La Sonnambula"
The episode in which John showcases his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema, Dave explains why "Frost/Nixon" made him cry, Tracy waxes poetic on "An American Tail" and Beth seemingly suggests Hitler wasn't such a bad guy.
Corrections: In this episode, we also learn Beth is bad with dates. "A Day at the Races" was released in 1937, not 1931, and "Revolutionary Road" was published in 1961, not 1962. Time to get a fact-checker…
We are excited to announce that beginning this week, a new program will be appearing on Up North 2: the State Theatre Show. Hosted by myself and State superstar Dave Poinsett, the hour-long weekly show will feature news, reviews and interviews from the State Theatre and Traverse City Film Festival. The first episode is now live online - click on the episode title in the above post to view the video. In future weeks, check out the schedule on Up North 2 for airtimes, or visit the blog to watch the newest episodes online.
As with everything at the State, the State Theatre Show is by and for the community, so if you have any feedback - suggestions for guests, ideas for special segments, etc. - please shoot them our way at statetheatre@traversecityfilmfestival.org.
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