In March 2014, Nazoranai, an experimental improvisation trio came together for their U.S. premiere, at the Big Ears festival in Knoxville, Tennessee. This documentary, part of Sam Stephenson and Ivan Weiss’s Big, Bent Ears: A Serial in Documentary Uncertainty series on The Paris Reviews, goes behind the scenes, spending time with members Stephen O'Malley, Oren Ambarchi, and Keiji Haino.
Keiji Haino
Stephen O'MalleyOren AmbarchiVarious life performances by Japanese Noise acts: Aube - Low Spin Drift / Incapacitants - Live At 20000V / Dislocation - Writing And Masturbation / Masonna - Live At Bears And La Mama / Seed Mouth - Twilight City / Violent Onsen Geisha - Night Of Unlcean Water / Solmania - Live At Living Room / Merzbow - Piss For Yves Klein / C.C.C.C. - Loud Sounds Dopa / Hijokaidan - Live At La Mama.
The film traces Sam McKinlay’s early days as a punk skateboarder through his academic development as a conceptual artist into a highly esteemed noise practitioner whose work bridges the gap between the gallery world and the sleaze of exploitation film imagery. It documents the physical processes of his work and the distillation of visuals into sound, most notably addressing the appeal of abstraction—from the cheap effects of old monster movie makeup to the ‘masks’ created by the heavy cosmetic makeup of 1920s flapper culture and actresses like Pamela Stanford in Jess Franco’s Lorna the Exorcist (The Rita has albums or EPs named after several eurotrash actresses, including The Nylons of Laura Antonelli (2009) and Monica Swinn/Pamela Stanford (2016)).
Eye-popping digital moving image work with an equally arresting soundtrack from noise music heavies.
A short musical film on the Old Harp tradition from East Tennessee, shot around a gathering in a church of the Smoky Mountains
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" takes a contemporary jolt in this original musical set in modern-day Tennessee. Cyrus Flint is a mean old banker whose one and only concern is the welfare of Flint City Bank. Dennis and Laura Pritchett are two parents struggling to make enough money to pay for an operation their son needs. Flint is organizing a songwriting and singing contest with a $2,000 first prize to promote his bank.
In its first 25 years only 10 people have finished The Barkley Marathons. Based on a historic prison escape, this cult like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance in this documentary that contemplates the value of pain.
The Edge of Possible: A Barkley Marathon Tale takes you deep inside the legendary Barkley Marathons, the world’s most elusive and punishing ultramarathon. Set in the unforgiving terrain of Frozen Head State Park, this film follows elite ultrarunner Harvey Lewis as he battles the course, his limits, and time itself. Halfway through, we meet Jasmin Paris, whose grit and endurance add another layer to this epic test of human resilience. With insights from race founder Lazarus Lake, past Barkley finisher John Kelly, Gary Robbins and others, this documentary is an unprecedented look at the fine line between ambition and impossibility.
An inside look as the 38-year-old prepares to perform at the famed Bridgestone Arena in his hometown of Nashville, featuring never-before-seen tour footage and interviews with the musician and those closest to him. It also shows how Jelly Roll balances life on tour with philanthropic work, including a visit to a juvenile detention facility where he was incarcerated multiple times to share his story in the hopes of inspiring positive change in others.
A film about fireworks, the people who make them and the cultures behind them across the globe.
The story of Tamika Catchings and the 1997-98 Tennessee Lady Vols - unequivocally the best in the country at the time.
When Miley Stewart (aka pop-star Hannah Montana) gets too caught up in the superstar celebrity lifestyle, her dad decides it's time for a total change of scenery. But sweet niblets! Miley must trade in all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for some ol' blue jeans on the family farm in Tennessee, and question if she can be both Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana.
The film accompanies musicians who have devoted themselves to new, uncharted sounds with a great deal of passion. They build new instruments and work with quotidian noises. In the process, the ostensible noise often becomes sound. An adventurous journey of discovery into the realm of noises and sounds, rhythms and stillness. Together with people who listen closely and without reservation. A film that aims to engage viewers to listen with their eyes and see with their ears. Astonishingly sublime.
'People Who Do Noise' is a film about the experimental music of Portland, Oregon. Extensive interviews and intimate performance footage provide an intense portrait of the motivations, emotions, and methods that go into this uncompromising, sometimes brutal musical form. Unwavering in its focus, the film brings to light an art form unfathomable to many, with only the words of the musicians themselves providing any explanation for the pulsating sonic chaos they create. The unflinching cinematic style defies any trend-setting or commercial representation, opting instead for a stark portrayal of a musical underground at its most genuine and vital.
Documentary about and with the Japanese electronic composer and artist Merzbow.
Filmed in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, this documentary tells the stories of four twentysomethings who are living their lives under the scrutiny and judgment often faced by those who clash with mainstream gender norms. Lizzy G, Kyta, and Yella Man are lesbian studs, and Ashton is an out trans man. While Lizzy G struggles to overcome abuse from her past, Kyta wants to free herself from her Asian family's expectations about her future. Ashton is navigating the tribulations of transition. And Yella Man? She's just trying to have a good time.
Two performances by noisecore act Sissy Spacek, one from The Leathershop in Lima, OH, and another in Minneapolis, MN, processed with analog video equipment.
formula, a constantly evolving work updated with each presentation, is a perfect synchronisation between sound frequencies and the movements on the screen. It places the viewer in a binary geometry of space and exploits the darkness to amplify one's perceptions. There is a complete integration of the various elements, composing music, images, lighting and orchestrating the relationships between them through a highly precise score.
In 1968 Roger Smith ate a peach during a break from work. When he was finished he took out a pocketknife and began carving the peach pit into a tiny pig. 43 years later the retired meter reader and cattle rancher from Culloeka, Tennessee, has carved hundreds of peach seeds into hummingbirds, stingrays, gospel choirs, entire villages, even a baseball stadium with more than 100 figures. "Given enough time," says Smith, "I don't think there is anything you can't make out of a peach seed."
The first and only documentary to tell the true, grassroots story behind the rise of the COUNTRY RAP phenomenon, starring its biggest stars telling their stories to over a half BILLION YouTube fans first-hand.
Video collage distributed by the label Come Organisation. I - IV. Noise, smut, medical procedures, studies on art, interviews and other assorted madness.