Music
A Dog Called Money + Q&A
Award-winning war photographer and filmmaker Seamus Murphy explores the creative inspiration behind PJ Harvey’s ninth studio album in A Dog Called Money, an arresting collage-style documentary charting their travels together in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the US.
Byline Presents: Inside @ Frontline Club
Join us for an evening of comedy and music programmed by Byline Festival as part of their ‘Inside’ events series.
When Words Fail. A Life With Music, War and Peace
A discussion with author and journalist Ed Vulliamy exploring the power of music, and the men and women who have dedicated their lives to understanding how and why music matters just so very much.
Screening: The War Show + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Andreas Møl Dalsgaard.
Through observational and at times humorous footage of everyday life, The War Show exposes what it is like to be a creative, ambitious young woman living amidst one of the most destructive conflicts of our time. This unprecedented documentary offers a rarely-seen image of youth culture in Syria, following the experiences of a DJ and her friends following Arab Spring of 2011, when the sad realities that follow envelop their hope for liberation.
Screening: They Will Have to Kill Us First + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Johanna Schwartz.
In 2012, three extremist groups captured most of northern Mali – an area the size of the UK and France combined. The cities were virtually shut down, sharia law was instituted and all music was banned. They Will Have To Kill Us First follows a number of prominent musicians in Mali in the wake of a jihadist takeover and subsequent banning of music.
The Art of Collaboration: Musical Score for Documentary
We will be joined by a panel of some of the UK’s most celebrated composers and filmmakers to discuss the process of constructing a score for documentary, exploring the collaborative relationship between composers and directors, creative approaches to composition and how music can ascribe meaning to images.
Yallah!: Underground Music in the Middle East
By Ratha Lehall On Monday 16 November, the Frontline Club hosted a screening of the documentary Yallah! Underground, a vibrant look at a diverse groups of Arab artists and musicians using culture to challenge the status quo. The film is set in the years prior to and during the Arab spring, and focuses on artists from […]
Screening: Yallah! Underground + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Farid Eslam via Skype.
From the early days of the Arab Spring that sparked hopes for change to the years of instability and political tension that followed, this enthralling documentary follows the stories of young prominent underground artists from across the Middle East during the period of 2009 to 2013.
London Georgian Film Festival Screening: Kulturfilms with Live Score
The London Georgian Film Festival is returning in its tenth year with another exciting programme of the best of Georgian cinema. On 2 October 2015, the Frontline Club is partnering with the festival to host a screening of short classic documentaries from Georgia along with a live score.
The evening will be presented by the writer Aka Morchiladze, who has written some of the bestselling prose of post-Soviet Georgian literature.
El Gusto: the “people’s music”
By Ratha Lehall On Tuesday 4 June, The Frontline Club hosted a screening of El Gusto. Despite a 6-hour flight delay and a broken ankle, director Safinez Bousbia made it up to the Frontline Club just in time for a lively Q&A. The film follows Bousbia on her journey to reunite a group of around 30 Jewish and Muslim Chaabi musicians, […]
Meet the Director: Safinez Bousbia and El Gusto Orchestra
By Nick Dyson Filmmaker Safinez Bousbia describes El Gusto as “the story of a group of musicians – Jews and Muslims – torn apart by history and brought together today by music”. In reality it took more than music alone to bring these musicians back together; rather the director’s own extraordinary efforts over a two […]
Screening: El Gusto + Q&A
Chaabi music used to be the heart and soul of cosmopolitan Algiers, uniting Muslim and Jewish traditions. By the start of the Algerian War of Independence in 1954 the two communities were no longer allowed to work together, the music stopped and friendships were forced apart. Half a century later they got together again for an extraordinary concert and the start of a new musical career. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Safinez Bousbia.
Screening: Gilad & All That Jazz + Q&A
Gilad Atzmon is a world renowned saxophonist, a well respected musician and a controversial public critic of Israel. In Giland and All that Jazz director Golriz Kolahi explores his music, ideas and motivations.
Livestock and Too Many Smoking Barrels.
As predicted in the post on Somali Victory in the World Cup, K’naan did indeed wave a couple of Juno awards. He won both Artist Songwriter of the year 2010, his manager Sol Guy breaking the news on his Twitter page. While K’naan fans in the diasporas will no doubt be celebrating, no one in the […]
Safari Soundtrack of the Year
It’s been a funny year for me music wise. I’m still struggling to keep up with what’s going on back home. I’ve bought a couple of duff albums on the back on online reviews and I’m sorry to lose The Beat on the BBC’s World Service. Anyway, here are the top 10 most played tracks […]
