19 AUGUST 2016

GET WHAT YOU NEED WITH MUSIC CINEMA AT GOMA

The transformative power of music is amplified in a new multi-genre program of documentaries and feature films screening at the Australian Cinémathèque in Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) this spring.

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines CNZM said tickets were on sale now for more than 25 films in ‘Get What You Want: Music Cinema’, a program screening from 2 September to 2 October in conjunction with Brisbane Festival.

The film program covers all genres of music from country to disco, folk to hip hop, house to punk, and metal to reggae. It includes films that provide insight on the music and lives of artists including Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, Miles Davis, Madonna and more.

‘We witness the motivations of some of the most mythologised stars of modern music as well as far-flung communities where grass roots movements are localising contemporary genres to powerful effect,’ Mr Saines said.

‘Get What You Want’ opens on Friday 2 September with a Madonna double-bill. Following the 6pm screening of the new documentary Strike a Pose 2016 exploring the life of backup dancers away from the spotlight of the 1990 Blond Ambition tour, In Bed with Madonna 1991 then screens from 8pm.

Documentaries on musical icons such as the heartbreaking Amy Winehouse story Amy 2015 and the surreal day-in-the-life of Nick Cave 20,000 Days on Earth 2014 will screen, as will an illuminating profile of reggae star Bob Marley, Marley 2012 and the tortured portrait of the symbol of a generation, Kurt Cobain, in Montage of Heck 2015.

Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music 2000 shows how the genre’s themes of loss and endurance have deep relevance for Indigenous Australian musicians, while Maestro 2003 explores the roots of dance music culture in the night clubs of 1970s New York, and heavy metal makes a difference in the most unexpected of places with Death Metal Angola 2012.

Feature films in the program include the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis 2013, punk classic Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains 1982, and Don Cheadle’s directorial debut and star turn as influential jazz man Miles Davis in Miles Ahead 2015. Purple Rain 1984 also screens.in tribute to the recently departed legend, Prince.

Peter McKay, Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, QAGOMA, said 'Get What You Want' would explore the impulses that drive performers and audiences in pursuit of great musical experiences.

‘The program gives audiences insights into the creative and social dynamics that operate across musical subcultures,’ Mr McKay said.

The rarely screened underground documentary All Ears: A Glimpse into the Los Angeles Beat Community 2013 examines the influence of producers J Dilla and Madlib on the scene that coalesced around LA’s Low End Theory nightclub in the mid 2000s. It screens with Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This is Stones Throw Records 2013, which celebrates the eclectic LA record label, ahead of a 20th anniversary celebration of Stones Throw featuring founder Peanut Butter Wolf, J. Rocc and Egyptian Lover at the Brisbane Festival Aurora Spiegeltent on 8 September.

‘Get What You Want’ also features the harrowing manufacture of a K-Pop girl group in Nine Muses of Star Empire 2012, one man’s near-impossible mission to unite all nine members of the Wu-Tang Clan on stage for their last concert in Rock the Bells 2006, and Penelope Spheeris’ chaotic portrait of the early 1980s LA punk scene The Decline of Western Civilization 1981.

Presented in partnership with Brisbane Festival, ‘Get What You Want’ is a ticketed program at the Australian Cinémathèque at GOMA from 2 September to 2 October 2016. Cinema tickets are on sale now, adults $10.50, concession $8.50 and Gallery members $7.50. A five-film discount is available at the Cinémathèque Box Office.