Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.
Wirklich alles?!
This program collects a number of the late singer/songwriter Steve Goodman's appearances on the classic AUSTIN CITY LIMITS television series. Probably best known for his song "City of New Orleans", Goodman's catalog of songs have earned him a large cult of fans, including luminaries such as John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, and Arlo Guthrie, all of whom appear here, talking about Goodman and his music. Containing a wealth of live material along with rare interview footage, this program is an excellent retrospective of a great career.
A short musical film on the Old Harp tradition from East Tennessee, shot around a gathering in a church of the Smoky Mountains
Heinz Strunk, plagued by crater-like skin rashes, lives with his sick mother in Hamburg-Harburg in the 1980s. As a saxophonist, he tours the North German lowlands with the dance combo "Tiffanys". In this bizarre universe of Korn, Klaus & Klaus and Koteletts, bandleader Gurki teaches him how to deliver cheerful, upbeat music. To escape the vicious circle of shooting festivals and village weddings, Heinz wants to start a solo career and become a hit producer...
Eric Andersen is widely regarded as one of the most poetic songwriters that sprang from the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s. His artful mélange of love, despair, hope and stirred memory has earned him a passionate international following and the respect and admiration of artists ranging from Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen to Lou Reed and Wyclef Jean. The Songpoet offers a look into the mind, soul and creative process of this multifaceted, complex and singularly driven artist whose career saw great expectations waylaid by misfortune.
At the forefront of the folk revival movement since the 1950's, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem are a highly influential group of Irishmen. Popularizing the traditional music of their homeland, the Brothers brought Celtic music into America, and remain some of its most avid performers.
Following folk musician Joan Baez on her extensive 2008-2009 tour, this film commemorates her career, which has spanned five decades. It includes concert and archival footage as well as interviews with such disparate colleagues, friends and admirers as Bob Dylan, Jesse Jackson and David Crosby. In addition to the music, it also touchs upon Baez's long history of global social activism.
A troubadour is expelled from the city when the queen sees his disfigured face. The palace guards smash his instrument as punishment, but the musician does not lose his determination to continue making music.
The final episode in our Mini-Docs series comes from musician and writer Jake Anderson, who explores the niche music genres which find an increasing audience in the North East. On a mission to discover outside-the-mainstream sounds and the driving forces behind their creation, Jake chats with musicians Me Lost Me, SQUARMS and Mariam Rezaei, along with some of the major players keeping these sonically-engaging sound makers doing what they’re doing, including Simeon Soden from Kaneda Records and Lee Etherington of TUSK. This mini-documentary features reflections on some of the most unique acts in the North East, what genre boundaries actually mean and artists’ hopes for the future of the North East’s alternative scene. This is an Art Mouse film for NARC. TV, written and directed by Jake Anderson.
In March 2005, Neil Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Four days before he was scheduled for a lifesaving operation, he headed to Nashville, where he wrote and recorded the country folk album Prairie Wind with old friends and family members. After the successful operation and recovery period, he returned to Nashville that August to play at the famed Ryman Auditorium, once again gathering together friends and family for this special performance.
Hugues Aufray, l'éternel jeune homme
A square rich boy wants to make it with a pretty folk singer, so he buys the coffee house where she and a bunch of other beatniks perform. Features performances by The Goldebriars, The Free Wheelers, and a very young Joan Rivers doing a stand-up routine.
Documentary about the folk scene around Castilla y León
Boomerang is a short film set in a post-collapse Berlin 50 years into the future: Raven finds an old diary from a 2020s pro Palestine activist and gets inspired to try some of its "recipes for disaster". Shot in an ASMR-style this experimental film is filled with sneaky folk songs leading Raven to turn their sadness into rage, and their rage into action. It's an attempt at making a piece of agit prop directed at passive "allies" and liberals who are too busy protecting their cushy lives, to realise their inactivity is making them complicit. It’s a film about the process of changing your mind, about what you’re gonna do, when presented with new information.
Tracing his career up to the point of his 1966 motorcycle accident and subsequent disappearance from the spotlight, this unauthorized documentary uncovers a side of Bob Dylan never revealed before. Includes extensive interviews and rare footage.
Comitiva Esperança
Pop sensations the Lovin' Spoonful perform their biggest hits in this collection of television appearances from the 1960s and '70s. Lead singer and songwriter John Sebastian discusses the band, their music and their legacy. Songs include "Summer in the City," "She's Still a Mystery," "Nashville Cats," the hit theme to the sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and "Do You Believe in Magic?"
The popular singer and folk musician Ingebjørg Bratland performs her music on the Frognerseteren Amfi in Oslo, August 11th 2023.
The songs of Joni Mitchell au Casino de Paris