Organizers of the Chattanooga Film Festival announce Sonic Cinema, an entire block of films, plus an education workshop dedicated to music.
One of the highlights of the series is the workshop, "So You Want Your Music to Be in Pictures?", conducted by music Supervisor Rick Clark, a native of Memphis who played and recorded music with the members of Big Star, in addition to producing music for other artists.
Mr. Clark edits the annual music edition of the Oxford American and has written for Rolling Stone, Guitar Player and Billboard, as well as liner notes for albums by artists ranging from Ricky Nelson to Jean Luc Ponty and Lynyrd Skynyrd. As a music supervisor, Mr. Clark's credits include the George Clooney film Up In The Air, Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, Billy Bob Thornton's Jayne Mansfield's Car and the AMC Western series Hell On Wheels.
Mr. Clark’s workshop, a joint production of CFF and Chattanooga-based SoundCorps, will teach artists how to go about placing their music in films and television. "Few people are better equipped to help musicians negotiate that sometimes slippery slope than Rick Clark," organizer's said.
“Rick’s the best,” said CFF Executive Director Chris Dortch II. “We brought him to Chattanooga two years ago as a special guest when our MES film club screened Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, and he captivated the audience with his stories of that band and the music scene in Memphis. Few people I know of are as experienced in all facets of the music industry as Rick, and he’s also taken his expertise to film and television.”
Mr. Dortch and SoundCorps executive director Stratton Tingle are confident the workshop will provide a useful service for artists. “As the digital revolution devours the prospect of drawing income from album sales, musicians increasingly turn to licensing for sustenance,” Mr. Tingle said. “Attendees of this presentation will discover how to land "sync deals" in the film industry.”
Mr. Clark will also introduce one of the Sonic Cinema block’s most important films, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train, which follows star-struck Japanese tourists, an Italian widow and a British immigrant through Clark’s hometown and, says the film’s official synopsis, “pays playful tribute to the home of Stax Records, Sun Studio, Graceland, Carl Perkins, and, of course, the King, who presides over the film like a spirit.” Noted music historian Peter Guralnick, writes of the film, “What seems so extraordinary to me about Mystery Train, watching it again twenty years after its deadpan arrival, is not just how fresh and vivid—how utterly timeless—it remains, but the extent to which it truly embraces both the myth and the reality of Memphis.”
"Another must-see film in the Sonic Cinema block is the documentary Lambert & Stamp, which tells the story of British film students Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert, who aspired in the early ’60s to find a young band, manage it, and make a film about its subsequent success. And what good fortune - that young band Lambert and Stamp latched on to was High Numbers, later to become The Who," organizers said.
"Fans of the 2008 documentary Anvil, about a Canadian heavy metal band trying to make a comeback, will no doubt love another documentary in that vein, I Am Thor, which tells the story of Jon Mikle Thor, a bodybuilder-turned-heavy metal rocker in a theatrical band called THOR. Like Anvil, THOR never quite made it big, and when Jon Mikle Thor, after 10 years of retirement, attempts a comeback, well, it isn’t an easy road."
"Rounding out the Sonic Cinema block is The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins, the work of documentarian Les Blank. As he always does with his subjects, Blank had unique access to Hopkins, a legendary bluesman. This classic film is a slice of life that shows Lightnin’ in his element."
“We hope CFF fans will enjoy Sonic Cinema,” Mr. Dortch said. “The intersection of music and film has always interested me, whether it’s a feature film that makes great use of a soundtrack - like American Graffiti - or a documentary that takes us inside the world of an artist, whether great or obscure.”
The Chattanooga Film Festival’s second year is set for April 2-5. After a successful first year with more than 4,000 attendees, the festival continues its mission to “Respect Cinema,” in hopes of increasing film exhibition, education and production in the state of Tennessee. For more information visit www.ChattanoogaFilmFest.com.