The Scopitone programme (admission free) shows remarkable music documentaries in the Kleine Zaal of the Rotterdam Schouwburg. The fifth edition of this series of film will again be introduced by music connoisseur and film collector Fenno Werkman, and includes the documentaries Blackhearts (Norway, 2016) and Cairo Jazzman (Germany, 2017).
Films in ‘Scopitone’
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Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape
Zack Taylor IFFR 2017 93′If only you'd kept them! After vinyl, cassettes are also making a comeback. Contemporary hipsters, midlife daydreamers and octogenarian pioneers idiosyncratically declare their love for the handy format. With musicians Henry Rollins and Thurston Moore, and a leading role for Dutch inventor Lou Ottens.
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Cairo Jazzman
Atef Ben Bouzid IFFR 2017 82′Passionate Amr Salah is an Egyptian jazz composer and musician trying to organise the Cairo Jazz Festival; a risky undertaking, not only because of his limited experience, but mainly also due to the increasingly intolerant social climate. This political music documentary simultaneously paints an atmospheric portrait of the Egyptian capital.
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New Voices in an Old Flower
Quino Piñero IFFR 2017 69′Westerners generally view Ethiopia as the mythical land of Rastafarians. However, the contemporary music scene is much richer than that, as this sultry, nocturnal exploration of the capital Addis Abeba demonstrates. From reggae to hip-hop and from free jazz to electronic sampling: diversity rules.
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Two Trains Runnin'
Sam Pollard IFFR 2017 82′1964: young, white blues fans go in search of two legends they only know from 78 RPM records, Skip James and Son House. They end up in the eye of a racial storm that led to civil rights and new inspiration for folk singers. A painfully contemporary documentary story.