Community is more important than ever in these insular-oriented days — being among your neighbors, sharing experiences, keeping in touch with the world around you.
Amherst Cinema excels in both community building and curation: pointing you to the cool stuff, the art that will spark you. A prime example is its Sound & Vision: Music in Film series, always a highlight of the summer.
Now in its fourth year, the series offers cheer-worthy concert films, thoughtful documentaries, unique narrative features and fascinating dives into music and culture, every Wednesday night at 7 p.m., through September 11.
Amherst Cinema general manager George W. Myers, who puts the series together, said all of this year’s films “reaffirm the deep and profound ways music affects our lives and gives us an outlet to share the parts of our lives that are beyond words. Each of these films provides something really powerful and fills in a different part of the prism.”
Next up in the series is “Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story,” (Wednesday, July 10), a feature-length documentary that delves into the life of the famed blues musician. Special guest Tom Reney, host of NEPR’s long-running show “Jazz à la Mode” and a consultant on the film, will participate in a post-screening Q&A.
When I worked at a record store in the 1990s, there was a high demand for the Ethiopiques, CD compilations of Ethiopian music from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The documentary “Ethiopiques: Revolt of the Soul” (Wednesday, July 17) uses archival footage, animation and interviews to tell the story of that era and its music, influenced by soul, funk and jazz.
Among the interviewees is producer Amha Eshete, founder of Ethiopia’s first record label, who made 120 singles and 14 albums with Ethiopian artists during those years.
“Babylon” (Wednesday, July 24) is a 1980 narrative film, never before released in this country, starring Brinsley Forde (of the UK reggae group Aswad) as a working class DJ dealing with a world of racism and poverty. MOJO Magazine gave it five stars and called it “One of the greatest British films.”
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is the world’s most-performed living composer, but he’s also described as reclusive; he’s given the spotlight in the new documentary “That Pärt Feeling” (Wednesday, July 31).
“The Strange Sound of Happiness” (Wednesday, August 7) is a playful and quirky documentary (or “docu-fantasy”) from director Diego Pascal Panarello, who gives up his musician dreams, returns to Sicily, and discovers the jaw harp. The film follows his journey as he traces the instrument’s history and mythology.
Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and band archivist Aaron Mullan will be in attendance for “Sonic Youth: 30 Years of Daydream Nation” (Wednesday, August 14), a program of films related to the band’s landmark album.
The documentary “Memphis ‘69” (Wednesday, August 21) is touted as that music scene’s answer to Woodstock and Wattstax. The recently restored movie was filmed at a three-day concert celebrating the city’s 150th anniversary and includes live performances by Bukka White, Rufus Thomas, Johnny Winter, Sleepy John Estes, John Fahey, Jo Ann Kelly, Mississippi Fred McDowell and others.
“It’s an incredible document,” Myers said. “Unlike Woodstock, or even Wattstax, it’s a concert presented without frills. There’s no light show, stage decorations, or any of the pomp of other concert films. It’s a real window into a moment in time with completely unadulterated performances, including vocal groups performing under trees to the side of the stage.”
Two short 1970s films by Les Blank, “Chulas Fronteras” and “Del Mero Corazon” (Wednesday, August 28), celebrate the Norteña music and culture from the Texas-Mexican border.
The Portland, Oregon band Dead Moon isn’t a household name, but the trio started making vital punk/garage music in 1987. The documentary “Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story” (Wednesday, September 4) relates their history. The band’s bassist, Toody Cole, will appear in person that evening. The film is presented in collaboration with The Women of Rock Oral History Project.
The series comes to a celebratory close with a newly restored version of the highly praised 1983 gospel documentary “Say Amen, Somebody” (Wednesday, September 11), which Roger Ebert once called “the most joyful movie I’ve seen in a very long time.” It stars the Father of Gospel Music, Thomas A. Dorsey, Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith, the Barrett Sisters, the O’Neal Twins, and more. It’s presented in collaboration with the UMass W.E.B. DuBois Department of Afro-American Studies and Black Music and Democracy Project.
All films are regular admission, and tickets are available at the box office and online at www.amherstcinema.org.
Ken Maiuri can be reached at clublandcolumn.com.