BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - May 2016

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FILM DOXA: DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL for the love of truth in film by Jennie Orton THIS MONTH IN FILM by Paris Spence-Lang by their nature tend to be very personal works,” says Dorothy “Documentaries Woodend. “I think that is why they have that power and impact on people.” Director of programming and head film wrangler for DOXA, Woodend has cultivated a large respect for the visceral impact the documentary medium has on a varied audiences. To see evidence of this, check out the essays on the DOXA website put together by this year’s guest curators: writer Rebecca Carroll, film curator and researcher Thierry Garrel, and producer Zeina Zahreddine. Each of the guest curated programs are very personal and they carry with them a lifetime of personal investment; Zahreddine was moved to tears while writing her essay for the site. “They’re very different in their approach but they ended up being kind of united by this fundamentally personal approach to the films they wanted to put into their program and their essays as well,” says Woodend. It is this direct conduit to the human experience that Woodend believes unites not only the film makers and the audience, but also those who seek to celebrate and bring these films to the world’s attention. “I think documentary film makers, because they are on the ground and they are imbedded and they are making the work, they are imbedded in the community and they have a personal stake in the stories,” she muses. “You need to have something burning in your gut and in the story you want to tell to make it happen.” The burning guts this year are evident. Carroll’s program concerns itself with issues within our perceptions of race and identity and features three films including Black is…Black Ain’t, film-maker Marlon Riggs’ last film, finished posthumously by friend and co-director Christiane Badgley. Garrel’s program, entitled French French includes a retrospective of last year’s guest curator Claire Simon. And Zahreddine’s program is Arab Spring/ Arab Fall, an investigation of new Arab cinema emerging out of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, a culture dear to her heart. “It’s a highly experimental and fearless film culture,” says Woodend, “looking at these new film-makers who are creating their first work and being informed by these cultural changes that had come about in their lifetime.” So how do you approach a film festival with over 80 films? “Pick up a program guide, ‘cause we really agonize over the program guide,” laughs Woodend. “We don’t copy and paste from press releases. We take the time to watch the films and write about them and try to capture their essence.” DOXA runs May 5-15, for showtimes visit doxafestival.com. Alice Through The Looking Glass THE MATRIX TRILOGY The crown of the shaky Wachowski sisters’ career, The Matrix is an undoubtedly awesome series—even if the last film was a little weak. It was heavily borrowed from Ghost in the Shell, and is, in hindsight, utterly insane. But still, this marathon screening is worth seeing: black trenchcoats, slow-motion bullet dodging, red pills, hacking, blue pills, a lot more hacking, and Keanu Reeves—these all make for excellent entertainment. You can see it all at The Rio Theatre on May 7th. PURPLE RAIN Some incredible musicians are dying on us, but Prince was—like David Bowie and Michael Jackson—much more than a musician. A true auteur of an artist, Prince released in 1984 what many consider his masterpiece—not an album, but a film, Purple Rain. Starring Prince himself, the film follows The Kid and his band as they try and make it as musicians in Minneapolis. Based on Prince’s life and featuring a stunning soundtrack that includes “When Doves Cry” and, of course, “Purple Rain,” this movie was a major success when it came out and is still lauded today. Watch musical history on May 14th at The Rio Theatre. AFTR UPCOMING RELEASES At least seven more Marvel movies are coming out in May, including Captain America IX and X-Men MXIV. The Angry Birds Movie is coming out on May 20th because Hollywood thinks we’re idiots. (We’re not, are we? This won’t pull $130 million at the box office, will it?) Alice: Through the Looking Glass hits May 27th because Hollywood remembered they can actually make something good and make money, and that Sacha Baron Cohen deserves more roles with accents. MAY 6 DRIVE MAY 13 FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) MAY 20 JURASSIC PARK (1993) MAY 27 PANʼS LABYRINTH JUNE 3 GOOD BURGER 26 FILM May 2016
ALBUM REVIEWS ANOHNI Hopelessness Secretly Canadian / Rough Trade Hopelessness is an outspoken protest album by an inscrutable artist responsible for some recent, important conversations on trans visibility and misogyny. As a feature-length review, it’s a somewhat terrifying subject. If the name ANOHNI is unfamiliar to you, it may be useful to know that she is an accomplished avant-garde theatre artist and has won over the rest of the art world with her smoldering chamber pop as Antony and the Johnsons. The recent change in name comes in part from being a transgender woman. The media world’s awareness of which became fodder for headlines throughout the music press, but this is not the most important thing to know about either ANOHNI or Hopelessness. While trans visibility remains an extremely important conversation to have, (ANOHNI’s role in which leading to scrutiny of the Academy Awards’ decision to exclude her from performing her nominated song at this year’s ceremony), she is an artist with too much to say to be ghettoized into one facet of societal labels. For existent fans, the conversation point of Hopelessness is likely the departure from acoustic piano and orchestral instrumentation to the high gloss, electronic maximalism of Hudson Mohawke (TNGHT, Kanye West, Drake) and dank experimentalism of Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never). It’s a sonic chapter unlike any she’s penned before, and while the thumbprint of the two can’t be ignored on the record, ANOHNI is a mammoth presence whose talent can only be stimulated, not overwhelmed. After all, she’s gone toe-to-toe in the past with megaliths like Björk and Lou Reed. The thematic core of Hopelessness is its outright rejection of contemporary society’s complacency, with America seemingly the bull’s eye of her condemnation. There’s no better example than “Obama,” which calls the sitting president to task over surveillance, persecution of whistleblowers, torture and failed promises. It’s a blunt approach that may well be questioned for its one-sided absolutism. What makes this work is the incorporation of unlikely sonic nuance. Mohawke’s enormous synthetic horns and Lopatin’s bone-liquefying sub-bass are immediately exciting like all good pop music should be. Pop is often concerned with distilling the complexities of love into four word choruses that create enough feeling to capture the listener fully, only letting them pause to reflect more deeply at the onset of comedown. ANOHNI has harnessed that spirit to make the ugliness of social injustice palatable and impossible to ignore. The boldest example of this strategy may be “Crisis,” the late album cut that sounds like the moment the hunk stops his beloved from boarding a plane in a romance movie. Before you cringe, you might want to take into account that this song is an apology to violent extremists created by American war crimes in the Middle East. There are also tracks that need little explanation, like trap banger “Drone Bomb Me” and stuttering anthem “Execution.” This review doesn’t have to take a political stance (and nor does the reader) to appreciate what ANOHNI’s end game is. It’s impossible not to have a strong reaction to what she’s saying, and that’s a much more interesting accomplishment than a consensus of belief. In order to take away the political divisiveness of its subject matter, I like to imagine what this album would sound like to someone who doesn’t speak a word of English. Almost unquestionably, ANOHNI has the most powerful and unconventional singing voice since Björk. The closest comparison would be an elite alto choir falling into a chasm mid-note during an earthquake. The immensity of the beats, bass and timeless melody provided by her producers would be cheapened by terms like immaculate and epic. Hopelessness inspires its exact opposite through an untouchable level of production value, raw talent and explosive statements. Best-rewarded listeners will appreciate all three components, but even the least radical audience member is unlikely to find nothing to adore. Written by Colin Gallant Illustration by Christian Fowlie May 2016 REVIEWS 27
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