The other ‘Super’ festival Supernormal, present a programme of selected music videos and footage from the Supersonic archives. (also catch the SN team playing some rad tunes from Supernormal’s bill as one of our guest DJ’s)

Over the past two years, Quietus co-editor Luke Turner and director Ethan Reid have wandered the UK making a series of films about the non-musical habits and hobbies of some of The Quietus’ favourite cult musicians. We love them for their art, but what do these people get up to in their spare time, and what can we learn about them from it?

Premiering at Supersonic 2014 are two short films from this series, Steve Ignorant needs no introduction: a righteous son of Dagenham, he was the voice of Crass for years, and with new band Paranoid Visions continues to fly the flag for no compromise punk rock. It’s an attitude that extends to every area of his life – now living in North Norfolk, Steve has managed to find himself on the crew of an autonomous, non-RNLI lifeboat. You might not ordinarily associate indie rock with the macho rough and tumble of American Football, but Alan Sparhawk is a lifelong enthusiast for and player of the sport.

In addition we’ll be screening two further films: Cosey Fanni Tutti (COUM, Throbbing Gristle, Carter Tutti) on vegetable gardening and striving to attain self-sufficiency without using pesticides, and Stephen Morris (Joy Division and New Order) demonstrating and discussing some of his collection of military vehicles

For One Night Only, the two kings clash – on one side the king of obscure oddities from London – The Duke Mitchell Film Club. On the other – the king of rare sounds from all across the globe – Death Waltz Recording Company – a boutique label specializing in obscure, rare-to-find and brilliant soundtracks.

The result can only be brilliant chaos.

For a special, one-off Supersonic event the minds behinds these two labels are putting their heads to create a one-of a kind evening stuffed with wall-to-wall madness – taking over the cinema tent at supersonic on 31^st May 2014, they will be presenting a programme of cinematic and audio-visual madness the like of which is never to be seen before or after.

There will be VHS tapes, an ever-decreasing quality of carbon copy films,  their respective inspirations, the worst music videos in mind, weird shorts and more than a fair share of crap horror music as well as rare and secret clips, videos, shorts and more. Nothing will be sacred, nothing will be off-limits – this will not be your usual film slot, that’s for sure.

If you want to experience something alternative, if you’ve had your fill of the bands, the tents and the music, come and join Spencer Hickman, Alex Kidd and Evrim Ersoy as they bring down the house for what promises to be a super-special event.

For the past 4 years Birmingham based filmmakers, and music lovers HTF Media have been documenting the festival, from live performances to interviews with artists such as Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, Godflesh and William Bennett. Here’s a selection of some of the Supersonic highlights captured on film. A lovely opportunity to relive previous editions of the festival and get you hyped for the rest of the weekend.

http://htf-media.blogspot.co.uk/

A collection of music shorts from the mighty Drag City label.

Among the bands that have released material on Drag City are Cave, Joanna Newsom, Pavement,[1] Royal Trux, Cynthia Dall, Faun Fables, Scott Walker, Bill Callahan, Will Oldham , Jim O’Rourke, Six Organs of Admittance, Loose Fur, Scout Niblett, David Grubbs, U.S. Maple, Alasdair Roberts, Papa M, Pearls and Brass, White Magic, The Renderers, Espers, Silver Jews, Monotonix, Nig-Heist, Michael Yonkers, The Red Krayola, Om, Sun Araw, Baby Dee and William Basinski.
http://www.dragcity.com/

Short film specialists KINO 10 join us at this year’s festival with a specially curated programme of short films, exploring bizarre rituals, strange traditions, mythical beasts, peculiar creatures and fantastical folk tales. Highlights include the magical Oh Willy… in which Willy, a middle-aged man grieves for his late mother, but finds protection from a big gentle hairy beast, and The Last Norwegian Troll which tells the animated story of just that, the very last Troll of Norway, voiced by everyone’s favourite Jesuit exorcist Father, Max von Sydow. There’s also some gems from the archive with a selection of shorts from as early as 1927 which look at Britain’s eccentric rural traditions and rituals, with footage of children playing with burning barrels in East Devon, Dwile Flonking in Harleston, and some amazing pictures from Stonehaven’s New Year Fireball Festival in 1965.

http://www.kino10.com/

A lo fi experimental film exploring visions of the darkness, The Mystic, The Occult, The Religious and The Apocalypse. The film is made by Belgian artist  Shazzula Nebula who has performed in psychedelic band White Hills and is an ex member of Aqua Nebula Oscillator.

The soundtrack features:

Master Musicians of Bukkake
Kawabata Makoto
Bobby Beausoleil
Horror Illogium
Yoga
Sylvester Anfang II
Burial Hex
Sayona
Kinit Her
Rose Croix
Mourning Ring
Ga’an
Shazzula
The Entrance Band
In Zaire
Cultus Sabbati
Mater Suspiria Vision
L’Acéphale
SUM OF R
Aluk Todolo
Menace Ruine
Demonologists
http://blackmassrisingsociety.blogspot.co.uk

Walking his dog late at night in the back alleys of his hometown of Nashville, Harmony Korine encountered trash bins strewn across the ground in what he imagined as a war zone. Overhead lights beamed down upon the trash in a Broadway-style that Korine found very dramatic. They began to resemble human form, beaten, abused and “very humpable”. Korine remembered, as a teenager growing up in Nashville, a group of elderly peeping toms who would come out at night. He has described them as “the neighborhood boogeymen who worked at Krispy Kreme and would wrap themselves in shrubbery, cover themselves with dirt, and peep through the windows of other neighbors.” Putting these two ideas together, Korine found conception for this film.
Trash Humpers is a 2009 American drama film directed by Harmony Korine. Shot on worn VHS home video, the film features a “loser-gang cult-freak collective”and their whereabouts in Nashville, Tennessee.

http://warp.net/films/trash-humpers

A strand of film programming curated by Jason Forrest at Network Awesome.

“A look at the wild stuff that happens way out on the back roads. Wildmen, talking animals, folk tails, and some of the culture that surrounds them all. Our hour long presentation of animations, short films, and video clips is sure to provoke and inspire.”

Network Awesome is a new online TV site that curates the media film, documentaries, and video collections from all eras of broadcast history. It’s free, not full of junk, and it broadcasts 6 new shows each day. The archives are stand-alone repositories of media, available anytime and are, like, totally social so you can share it with your friends. Root around in there! You’ll be amazed at what you find.
http://networkawesome.com/

For his new documentary the Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller and his sometime accomplice Nick Abrahams turn their attention to fellow film pioneer and iconic performance artist Bruce Lacey.
Three years in the making the film examines Lacey’s remarkable legacy as a painter and sculptor (creating extraordinary mechanical devices in the 1960s), an avant-garde filmmaker (alongside Dick Lester and Bob Godfrey) and as an all-round cultural chameleon, working with The Goons, The Beatles and even folk-rock super-group Fairport Convention. An intimate portrait of a self confessed ‘silly bugger’ and true visionary artist who, at the age of 85, still lives the bohemian dream; creating art and magic in a farmhouse near Norwich.

A strand of film programming curated by Jason Forrest at Network Awesome.

“Everyone likes to make things, sometime they end up being famous for it but often they just end up looking like freaks. Here’s a salute to those people who either did it themselves, made something up, or just did it like no one else.”

Network Awesome is a new online TV site that curates the media film, documentaries, and video collections from all eras of broadcast history. It’s free, not full of junk, and it broadcasts 6 new shows each day. The archives are stand-alone repositories of media, available anytime and are, like, totally social so you can share it with your friends. Root around in there! You’ll be amazed at what you find.

http://networkawesome.com/

Mariexxme’s lush documentary “The Luxury of Empire”, filmed on the French leg of Oxbow’s 2009 European tour offers an intimate portrait of a band in full artistic maturity. It sees them undergoing the daily trials of touring with grace and provides sometimes touching and humorous insights into an otherwise mysterious band. The film’s dark, cinematic aesthetic was inspired by the atmosphere of Oxbow’s recent work. It echoes its title and is interlaced with live performances and candid interviews in which the band peel away the layers of their processes and which bring the viewer as close as it’s possible to get to a band without being in it.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oxbow-The-Luxury-of-Empire/230372437010276

A sneak preview of the collaborative documentary which examines the cultural significance and legacy of the legendary CRASS Records compilation album releases (1980-1984) and which explores synergies between these and the Imperfect Cinema project.

The CRASS ‘Bullshit Detector’ compilation albums were DIY in ethos and were absolutely not concerned with traditional ‘production values’ as a criterion for exclusion or inclusion, but rather the sentiments and ideas expressed within each recording.

No two tracks on these compilations are the same, many utilising home recording technologies and improvised instrumentation. This was nothing short of groundbreaking, as by eschewing a traditional ‘industrial’ production value system, CRASS actually provided a venue for participation which valourised experimentation, resourcefulness and individual expression. In rejecting the codes and conventions of the ‘professionalised’ production value system, the Bullshit Detector compilations gave voice to those whom otherwise might have never have had their ideas and actions disseminated to a wider audience.

These fascinating releases provide the basis for Imperfect Films’ first feature-length project.

$100 and a T-shirt- a film about zines

‘$100 and a T-shirt’ is a cultural analysis of what causes zine makers to tick; what the hell zines are, why people make zines, the origin of zines, the resources and community available for zine makers, and the future of zines. The film interviews around 70 zine makers, ex-zine makers, and readers from the northwest USA. Four years in the making, the film features footage of the Portland Zine Symposium, a zine bicycle tour of Portland, and activities bringing zine culture to life. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about zine history and about what writers are doing right now to make their publications relevant to the 21st Century, this film may give you some clues.

Also, look out for our zine panel discussion that follows the film, and make sure you take a look at the Birmingham Zine Festival exhibition and stalls.

microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/title/1011

$100 & A T-Shirt from Cantankerous Titles on Vimeo.

Fonal Records is an independent record label from Finland that has been releasing experimental music since 1995. Initially established by Sami Sänpäkkilä to release his own recordings under the name Es, Fonal is a truly independent record label in every sense and now has over 80 releases to its name, This music video screening presents a variety of techniques ranging from animation to live action. Videos have been shot with mobile phones, super 8, 16mm film and Red One cameras, and all have been made with a zero budget. This special programme includes work from such label luminaries as Lau Nau, Kemialliset Ystävät, Paavoharju, Islaja and Shogun Kunitoki.

fonal.com

Eleanoora Rosenholm: Valo kaasumeren hämärässä from Sami Sänpäkkilä on Vimeo.

Dir:Paul Morrissey – 1973 – UK/Italy/France

High and low art collide in this gorgeously photographed, sex and gore filled, delirious trash-art gem. Udo Kier’s demented central performance ranks as one of the most intense and outrageous in cinema history.

This screening is part of Psychotronic Cinema’s late night horror at Supersonic. Psychotronic Cinema programmes cult classic films at UK cinemas and is responsible for the legendary “All Night Horror  Madness” event and the upcoming “All Night Bad Movie Experience”.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Psychotronic-Cinema

Dir:Dario Argento – 1977 – Italy

Dario Argento’s 70s masterpiece remains an iconic milestone in horror cinema, playing out as a hallucinatory onslaught of dreamlike imagery, atmosphere, colour and sound. Goblin’s legendary score will need little introduction to Supersonic fans.

This screening is part of Psychotronic Cinema’s late night horror at Supersonic. Psychotronic Cinema programmes cult classic films at UK cinemas and is responsible for the legendary “All Night Horror  Madness” event and the upcoming “All Night Bad Movie Experience”.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Psychotronic-Cinema

STILL BEFORE is an intimate portrait of San Francisco art brut quartet OXBOW, recorded by their former booking agent, soundman and man Friday MANUEL LIEBESKIND, during two weeks in Europe in late Fall 2009.
Given unprecedented access, Liebeskind attempts to uncover the grinding obsessions, the machinations and the underpinning thought process behind making, playing, and touring on music that embraces art as though its life depended on it. Across five countries, over a dozen shows, and in front of rapt audiences OXBOW, and chronicler Liebeskind, explore the WHYS of art creation, the touring life and 20 years in, the motivations for continuing the same.
STILL BEFORE is filmed entirely on an iPhone with a 640×480 pixel resolution and edited for the screen.

http://www.stillbefore.com

This captivating documentary is the product of five years of obsessive filming of live concert footage, exclusive interviews, and historic documentation focusing on three fiercely independent music labels and their bands.

Featuring Neurosis, ISIS, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican, Oxbow, Evangelista, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Cave In, and many others whose music and art found ideal homes in the artist-run record labels of Hydrahead, Neurot, and Constellation.

These labels combine hard-to-define, heavy music with a visual aesthetic that has enraptured worldwide fans, without the need for radio or corporate media outlets. They uphold the legacy of treating music as an art form, not as a product.

This film is an answer to those who question where the spirit of punk rock is today.

Over 20 bands and visual artists.
3 record labels.
1 philosophy.

“Blood, Sweat & Vinyl provides a keen glimpse into crucial corners of the modern music universe where corporate concerns are disregarded and the artists are given (and receive) the respect they deserve.”
– J. Bennett, Decibel Magazine

“It’s a goldmine of exclusive footage for fans, but it’s also a compelling piece for curious onlookers… It’ll make you proud to listen to this music.”
– Etan Rosenbloom, www.metalsucks.net

http://www.bloodsweatvinyl.com/

Blood, Sweat & Vinyl: DIY in the 21st Century (Trailer) from kenneth thomas on Vimeo.

Esko Lönnberg has left his middle-class job in Sweden and returned to his hometown of Pori, Finland. Now he has taken up filmmaking. His first project is a film about the rock band Circle.

The film follows Esko Lönnberg who is making a film about the rock band Circle. Lönnberg, a 59-year-old HVAC manager, left his job in Sweden and returned to his hometown of Pori, Finland, to pursue his artistic desires. In Pori, he found kindred spirits in the local experimental
band Circle whose members are half of his age. The shooting for the Circle movie mostly takes place in the countryside where the band is recording their next album. The circumstances turn out to be chaotic, but Esko tries to keep the crowd together, even though he does not know himself if he is going to end up with fiction or non-fiction – and problems ensue. Disagreements disappear, however, when the gang gets together to share sacred moments
around the dinner table, to watch sports on TV or to play in the recording room, where Esko captures everything essential and unessential on video while the band plays. When filming the musicians in action, Esko almost becomes part of the band. He throws himself into the music with his whole body and does not pay much attention to what his instrument, the video camera, is recording. In spite of some discord and even heated tones, the making of the
Circle movie radiates an air of friendship. It ties the crowd together, regardless of the weight of each individual performance. In the end, the greatest rewards seem to be the work itself and the shared experiences. The vocalist of Circle, Mika Rättö, is virtually the only one in the band to show interest in Esko’s film project. The making of the film indeed falls mostly on their shoulders. Besides being an account of filmmaking, “Man with a Video Camera” is a film about the significance of choices in life and their consequences.

This screening accompanies a special performance by Circle at Supersonic Festival 2011.

“Kill All Redneck Pricks: A Documentary Film about a Band Called KARP” is the biography of a friendship. Set in the Pacific Northwest against the backdrop of the Olympia, WA post punk and Riot girl movements of the early 90’s, “Kill All Redneck Pricks: A Documentary Film about a Band Called KARP” details the joys and tragedies of three young friends who rise above their surroundings to form a band called KARP.

Eagle & Feather present the third greatest story ever told, that of ‘Bobby Davro’s ‘The Making of Kipple’, the second greatest story, the story of Jesus, and the greatest story every told, that of Val Kilmer.

Lichens (aka Rob Lowe) is not just performing at Supersonic, he is also curating a series of film screenings in the Theatre space.

Outer Limits is an exploration of contemporary works dealing with observations and ritual practices in connection with the natural world and the cosmic plane.

Subtle, glacial and turbulent, like the simple seismic shift of Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara’s “Earthquakes Agave” , or the deep breathed bliss of Sabrina Ratté’s “Mirages”. These video works provide an open door into the next phases of image capture, while embracing the history of the medium.

With Paul Clipson and Rose Kallal both working in a multiple image16mm film format, it makes for a warm and saturated feel that is properly visceral. You truly understand the intuition and process both attribute to their craft as they immerse themselves in the violence and awe of nature and what is unknown.

The centerpiece of this program is “Guardian of the Veil”. Matthew Barney’s first in a series collaborations with Jonathan Bepler that will be seven performances to convey the stages of Norman Mailer’s novel “Ancient Evenings”. This documentation is a performance at the Manchester Opera House in 2007. With precision of form, Barney gives a nod to the old Gods, while presenting Egyptian ceremonial rites from his own perspective, and a fresh one at that.

This will be an exclusive screening, as this has not been shown in a format larger than a video monitor as of yet.

Swansea Love Story
Produced and Directed by Andy Capper and Leo Leigh
Soundtrack includes Spiritualized, Sian Alice Group  and Dunvnat Male Voice Choir

VBS befriends a gang of young addicts caught up in South Wales’ largely ignored heroin epidemic. Our intimate look into their lives shows how economic depression, family breakdown, and addiction create unbreakable cycles for the people in their grip.
“The must-see British film of the year” The Guardian