NXNE Film geared up for its 14th year, and the programming this year moved beyond just music-based documentaries and instead showcased a broad range of movies that explore a myriad of topics.
A number of flicks are having their Canadian, North American, and world premiere at North By Northeast, which is currently in full swing.
Some of the films that were featured at NXNE Film include:
– “La Voz De Los Silenciados,” an 80-minute silent film that paints a searing picture of contemporary slavery using non-actors, Brechtian stylization, a brutal subway landscape, and the isolation through deafness.
– “Let’s Ruin It With Babies,” where the story focuses on a thirtysomething named Channing whose invention of a karaoke bar on wheels points her firmly on the road to endless hipsterdom – just as her husband Chazz contracts the “domesticity” bug and the urge to procreate. Director Kestrin Pantera is also speaking as part of NXNE Interactive.
– “Luck’s Hard” follows the quest by Ron Hawkins – of the seminal ‘90s alt-rockers Lowest Of The Low – to create the perfect band.
– “Riot on the Dance Floor” is a journey of musical champions and underdogs – and above all, is about the freedom and liberation of having complete creative control
– “Born To Ruin” follows Toronto-based band, Wildlife, as they record their sophomore album, On the Heart.
– “Vann ‘Piano Man’ Walls: The Spirit of R&B” is a film for anyone curious about the origins of rock n’ roll. Vann “Piano Man” Walls was a rhythm and blues pioneer, and the movie follows Vann and several of his peers (including Dr. John, Ry Cooder, Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun, Ruth Brown, and more) through his adventure of musical history and performance.
– “Panama,” where two back-up dancers from the Van Halen video for “Panama” reunite 30 years later, only to find out that their lives have gone in two very different directions.
