SXSWORLD

2 4 S X S W O R L D / M A R C H M U S I C 2 0 1 4 midst the hubbub that is SXSW's default setting, a trio of new features will screen back-to-back-to-back at the Paramount eatre on Saturday (March 15) as part of SXSW Film, offering viewers a chance to spend some concentrated quality time with three very different, yet equally timely, takes on the movie musical. e musical heritage of Memphis provides the inspiration for director Martin Shore's documentary Take Me to the River. e film illustrates the city's diverse, multi-racial musical traditions by documenting the recording of a new album featuring a genre-hopping local assortment of R&B, rock and hip-hop artists. e resulting film is an infectious cel- ebration of Memphis' history as a center of interracial musical harmony through decades of discrimination and segregation. As a bonus, a large portion of the film's profits will be donated to programs associated with the Soulsville Foundation, including the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy and Soulsville Charter School. "I wanted people to understand where their music came from," director Shore, himself a former working R&B drummer, recently commented to the Memphis daily e Commercial Appeal. "I wanted there to be a spotlight back on Memphis and the Mississippi Delta, an international spotlight. It's important that we, as Americans, are aware not only where our music comes from, but the cultural jewels we've given the world. We have given the foundation that has sponsored and influenced the world's popular music, and that story needed to be told." In addition to its SXSW screening, Take Me to the River is the inspi- ration for a free, open-to-the-public all-star concert scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Butler Park. In keeping with the film's eclectic assortment of artists, the show boasts a cross-generational mix of rock, R&B and hip-hop performers with Memphis connections. Hi Rhythm, the fabled studio players who provided the groove for such Memphis greats as Al Green and Ann Peebles, will serve as house band. Performers will include soul survivors such as William Bell, Otis Clay, Syl Johnson and Booker T. Jones; rappers Snoop Dogg, Al Kapone and Big Baby and Frayser Boy; blues vets Charlie Musselwhite and Bobby Rush, and roots-rockers the North Mississippi Allstars (whose Cody Dickinson is one of the film's co-producers). In contrast to Memphis' stew of American styles, but no less imagina- tive or eclectic, is the multi-cultural instrumental approach of Mexican acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, whose unlikely rise to interna- tional success is the subject of For ose About to Rock. e film traces the iconoclastic partners' unconventional career path, from playing in a Mexican metal band and busking on the streets of Dublin to performing at the White House and in some of the world's most prestigious concert halls. For ose About to Rock's director, music journalist Alejandro Franco Fernandez—who created distinct English- and Spanish-language ver- sions of the film, rather than relying on dubbing or subtitles—originally intended to interview Rodrigo y Gabriela for a projected documentary on England's Glastonbury festival, but found himself so moved by their music and their story that he changed his plans and decided to focus exclusively on the duo. "I went with them to Brussels, where I saw 15,000 people chanting in chorus their songs, which I thought was amazing because Rodrigo and Gabriela play with no lyrics," the filmmaker explains. "e next day, the number grew to 25,000 when we went to Paris, where they were treated as authentic rock stars. Before we got to Glastonbury, I had already decided that the documentary had to be about them." e fusion of film and music takes a different shape in God Help the Girl, which marks the directorial and screenwriting debut of Stuart Murdoch, mastermind of Scottish indie-pop legends Belle and Sebastian. e musical comedy-drama, which won acclaim in recent screenings at the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival is a whimsical, introspective tale of a trio of troubled young people who form a bond based on their personal struggles and their shared passion for music. Set in Belle and Sebastian's hometown of Glasgow, the long-in-the-works, autobiographically inspired project features a set of new Murdoch songs. "I think it was a natural outgrowth of making music videos," Murdoch recently told Rolling Stone, adding that he and Belle and Sebastian gui- tarist Stevie Jackson "used to talk about making a film with the band, but then it ended up being something more formal, and something with more of a fictional narrative. "I don't love musicals but I love movies," stated Murdoch. "Some of the benchmarks were just regular movies: all the John Hughes stuff, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, American Graffiti (and) a bunch of British films, like Billy Liar. I had to lean much harder on films that I'd liked than records that I'd liked, because it was so new to me." n For more details on SXSW Film screenings and SXSW Music showcases, visit schedule.sxsw.com. Paramount eatre to Host Saturday Music Film Triple Feature by Scott Schinder God Help the Girl M A R I S A M U R D O C H For Those About to Rock The Story of Rodrigo y Gabriela A L E J A N D R O M E J A A

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