Hot on the heels of the 2012 edition, Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce that the 6th annual CMW Film Fest will be taking place March 21-23, 2013 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. The 3-day festival has increasingly garnered attention from the media and public since it was first introduced, premiering some of music’s most illuminating films and documentaries while calling attention to the directors, composers and music that bring these stories to life on the big screen. And next year promises no less!
As our programming team begins their search for 2013, here’s a recap of some of the films which emerged as winners at this year’s festival…
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Best Film – UNDER AFRICAN SKIES
(Director: Joe Berlinger)
Under African Skies recounts the creation of Paul Simon’s landmark album Graceland, reuniting him with musicians who inspired and worked on the album, interweaved with the political controversy that has ensued Simon ever since. The film features a wealth of footage from the original recording sessions and culminates in a celebratory 25th-anniversary concert.
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Best Emerging Filmmaker – Jeanie Finlay
(Film: SOUND IT OUT)
Named the official “Record Store Day” film of last year, Sound It Out is a documentary portrait of the very last surviving vinyl record shop in Teesside, North East England. A cultural haven in one of the most deprived areas in the UK, Sound It Out documents a place that is thriving against the odds and the local community that keeps it alive.
“Finlay takes a gentle approach with her subjects, letting their passion – and hers – guide the doc, which was crowd-source funded by more than 250 donors.” – Toronto.com
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Best Short Film – KEVIN (Director: Jay Duplass)
In Austin, TX in the early ’90s, Kevin Gant was the Duplass Brothers’ hero. They reveled in Kevin’s exploratory musical style and playful spirituality. But in 1995, Kevin mysteriously disappeared. Jay Duplass’ documentary debut explores who Kevin is, how he lost his inspiration, and what he must do to get it back.
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Career Achievement Award – Paul Williams
In Toronto for a retrospective screening of The Muppet Movie, composer Paul Williams participated in a special post-film Q&A discussing his experiences working on the film with Jim Henson, the longevity of the film and its soundtrack, and much more. An Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Hall of Fame songwriter, his standards have been recorded by a who’s who of musical icons – from Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Ray Charles to David Bowie, Tony Bennett, Sarah McLachlan, Jason Mraz, Willie Nelson, The Dixie Chicks and Diana Krall. His song, “The Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie is one of two Paul Williams’ songs that grace the American Film Institute’s list of the top movie songs of all time. His recent work has remained wonderfully diverse, from creating the story and writing the songs for Disney’s Emmy nominated A Muppets Christmas: Letters To Santa and penning the music and lyrics for Garry Marshall’s theatrical sensation Happy Days, to writing with the Scissor Sisters and Daft Punk.
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