Bill Knowles expects the unexpected as he rounds up another eclectic Soundtrack Festival packed with screenings, Q&As, masterclasses, awards, documentaries and live scores celebrating the best in international film and music.
If not this month, when can we compare Cardiff to the French Riviera? We might not have the weather, and yes, the food might not match up, and okay, okay, I’ll admit that there’s a distinct lack of Romanesque Mediterranean-facing villas in Splott, but dammit, this month we can definitely claim something of the Alpes-Maritimes for ourselves with the return of the annual Soundtrack Festival.
Between Wed 14 and Sun 18 Nov, Cardiff will once again feel a bit less like Cardiff and a little more like Cannes as the adventurous international film and music festival returns for its fifth year with no sign of it becoming anything other than a mainstay in the cultural calendar of South Wales.
This year’s festival once again promises a fantastic array of events in a programme packed full of screenings, masterclasses, Q&As, educational workshops and live performances. From die hard cult film fanatics to art-house aficionados, animating enthusiast and inquisitive students, Soundtrack looks to cater for everyone. In a quick roundup, you can expect a brooding documentary about intense human tragedy seen through the eyes of a flower in The Tsunami And The Cherry Blossom, a screwball comedy in the form of Seven Psychopaths, Johnny Depp showing his true colours as a CGI chameleon in Rango, and even a techno western via The Legend Of Kaspar Hauser. This of course is just the beginning, and the events on offer look about as intriguing as they are eclectic.
The array of guests on show at this year’s festival certainly lends a particularly weight to proceedings, and although 2008’s headliner is hard to match – Danny Boyle having opened Soundtrack with the second ever British screening of his Oscar-winning masterwork Slumdog Millionaire – there are still a wide range of pretty impressive names on the bill. David Julyan for example opens the festival in style on Wed 14 with his BAFTA Craft Masterclass about the composition of movie scores, and even if you don’t recognize the acclaimed composer’s name, you’ll probably recognize his music. He was the long-time collaborator of Hollywood director Christopher Nolan, penning the soundtrack for Momento (2000), Insomnia (2002), The Prestige (2006), and also scores for Inside I’m Dancing (2004) and Cabin In The Woods (2012).
For film aficionados, and even those with only a passing interest in the construction of Hollywood blockbusters, one name that will certainly stick out on this year’s bill, is David Arnold, the multi award-winning television and film music producer behind the Grammy nominated Casino Royale (2006) and Independence Day (1996) soundtracks. Having also scored Godzilla (1998) and four other Bond films, Arnold is a heavyweight in the world of film composition, and he’ll be discussing his illustrious career on Sun 18 at Chapter Arts Centre.
Also worthy of note, audiences can enjoy a screening and discussion with Vincent Moon, who is famed for his video work with the likes of REM, Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes. Sat 17 Nov sees the screening of Petites Planètes at Chapter Arts Centre, Moon’s exploratory film about traditional music, religious rituals, music in dying languages and shamanic trance across five continents.
In terms of live performance, Powerplant With Joby Burgess on Thurs 15 offers up an impressive looking audio-visual extravaganza at the stunning Royal Welsh College Of Music And Drama. Expect an evening of grand, cinematic entertainment combining electronics, percussion and visuals from one of the UK’s most celebrated percussionists.
The 1977 cult horror movie Suspiria also given the live treatment with a live score from musician and music producer Theo Keating – better known as the house and electro DJ Fake Blood – alongside the screening on the final evening of the festival at Chapter Arts Centre. There are even fringe gigs taking place under the Soundtrack umbrella with Lucy Rose playing at The Gate Arts Centre on Fri 16, and Gong in all their psychedelic glory at Cardiff University Students Union on Thurs 15.
It’s this inter-relationship between the audio and visual aspects of cinema – particularly the blurring of boundaries between live performance and the fixed medium of film – which makes Soundtrack so unique as a festival. It has always been an event that caters for cinephiles and music lovers in equal measure, but it seems to be making even greater strides in trying to establish itself as unique in this sense. As a result, Soundtrack feels more interactive than many of its more screen-centric cousins, and, perhaps as a result, feels like a festival on the cusp of expansion, rather than one struggling to survive.
Inevitably the Soundtrack Festival programme includes its fair share of music documentaries. Thursday evening sees the screening of Don’t Follow Me (I’m Lost), a fly-on-the-wall study of rocker Bobby Bare Jr as he tours the country playing everywhere from clubs to peoples’ living rooms. Fri 16 offers hip-hop fans the chance to indulge in the Michael Rapaport directed Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest at Clwb Ifor Bach, as well as an in-depth exploration of spiders from Mars with David Bowie And The Story of Ziggy Stardust. This Jarvis Cocker-narrated piece tracks the legendary pop star-cum-spaceman through his transformation into Ziggy, and includes a Q&A session with director James Hale and executive producer Ryan Minchin.
This year, Soundtrack also features a mini-awards ceremony, with the Soundtrack Mini Music Doc Award. Over the past few months, budding Scorseses and wannabe Eastwoods from all around the world have been working through the night trying to pick out that perfect cutaway shot, get just enough gravel in their narration, and catch on camera the all-important moment when the drummer turns up to practice drunk and tries to hurl his bass drum at the frontman. By now, these filmmakers’ entries have been whittled down to a shortlist of only five by the festival’s esteemed judging panel, and it’s up to you, the people of South Wales, to decide who wins the top prize. Screenings are held on Fri 16 at the Newport University City Centre Campus, and again on Sat 17 at Chapter Arts Centre, with an audience vote following the second screening.
And you know what, even if you get sick of all this music stuff, Soundtrack festival can still cater for you. In Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjarne Nilsson’s first feature film, Sound Of Noise, we follow the fantastically named Detective Amadeus Warnebring, who, despite being born into a family of illustrious musicians, loathes music with a passion. How will he cope as he faces his own worst nightmare? No, not Beethoven, worse: sonic terrorists!
The Soundtrack International Film And Music Festival runs for four days across a great range of venues in Cardiff and Newport. Whilst we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s on offer, with the breadth of events on offer, Soundtrack promises to be a festival worth watching.
Soundtrack International Film And Music Festival, various venues, Wed 14-Sun 18 November. Tickets: prices vary. Info: www.soundtrackfilmfestival.com