The highly anticipated 11th edition of Doc'n Roll Film Festival kicks off tomorrow in London, along with satellite screenings in 12 other cities across the UK and Ireland.
Dubbed “the Glastonbury of music movie fests” by Time Out, Doc’n Roll has a decade-plus of expertise in showcasing innovative filmmakers’ under-the-radar music documentaries – and the talented trailblazers, transgressors and outliers of the music world that are their subjects.
This year’s programme of 26 premiere feature films includes 4 world and 7 international premieres and 80 UK-wide events, and will take audiences on a musical odyssey from New York City to Melbourne, Toronto to Los Angeles, London to Ukraine, Ohio to Scotland, while spotlighting genres including rock, punk, hip hop, folk, R&B, experimental music, jazz and more.
Doc'n Roll 11 kicks off in style (times two!) on opening night, Thursday 24 October, with an international premiere of Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys, the first official documentary on the late Wu Tang Clan mainstay, as well as a sold-out first of two festival screenings of Teaches of Peaches, with an in-person Q&A from its subject, the performance artist, producer, provocateur and electroclash legend.
Halfway through the festival, an equally hot ticket comes in the first of two London screenings for the vivid, compelling and emotionally raw Hakeem, starring the critically acclaimed Isle of Dogs-born singer-songwriter Hak Baker, who will also perform live.
Once again this year, Doc'n Roll breaks new ground in featuring a record number of films by female directors and focusing on female artists. This year’s lineup includes feature docs on 2-Tone royalty Pauline Black of The Selecter, Scotland's girl bands, 90s punk forces of nature Lunachicks, DIY groundbreaker Ani DiFranco, slide legend Ellen McIlwaine, folk-blues singer and activist Barbara Dane, and Dory Previn, the fearless singer-songwriter lauded by the likes of Jarvis Cocker and CMAT.
The festival’s 18-day London run will take place at renowned cinemas including BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX, the ICA and Barbican Cinemas, the Rio and the Ritzy, the Castle and the Garden, and Picturehouse’s Hackney and Finsbury Park screens.
The majority of Doc'n Roll 11's premiere events will be followed by exclusive Q&A sessions with filmmakers and artists offering unique insights into the creative processes behind these feature documentaries on artists as diverse as DEVO, the Black Keys, the Bevis Frond, Broken Social Scene, Steppenwolf, Gogol Bordello, Midnight Oil, Stu Spasm of Lubricated Goat, Garland Jeffreys, Mo Foster, Paul Burwell, Jeffrey Lewis and musically inspired painter Chris Gollon. And on 8 November at the Century Club Soho, Doc’n Roll returns with its annual Shorts Night, featuring five brief (and brilliant) looks at a range of musical subjects, all for just a tenner!
Satellite regional screenings of selected films from the Doc’n Roll 2024 programme will also take place in Dublin, Brighton, Birmingham, Coventry, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Hastings, Stockport, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham and Glasgow (see the full film programme for details).
Vanessa Lobon Garcia, director and co-founder of Doc’n Roll Film Fest, says:
"I am excited to announce that this year, our Doc’n Roll Film Fest programme will feature more women than ever before—a significant achievement in a genre still dominated by male perspectives. This progress is something to celebrate, and reflects Doc’n Roll’s commitment to amplifying diverse voices in music documentaries.
“Additionally, we are thrilled to be expanding our festival's artistic horizons. Including a film on the acclaimed painter Chris Gollon in our lineup is not only an honour but also a reflection of our love for the arts and our desire to bring stories of significant cultural impact to the big screen. Gollon’s love for music and connection to London adds a special resonance to this year's programme.
“Despite the challenging times the film industry is facing, we are delighted to bring fresh energy and audiences into cinemas. This would not be possible without the unwavering support of our audience and cinemas, as well as the directors, producers and distributors who believe in us and choose to premiere their films with Doc’n Roll. We are deeply grateful for this shared passion; it drives us to continue our mission of celebrating these films as they should be experienced – on the big screen, in the company of fellow music and film lovers, and LOUD!
”Our festival thrives on the energy and enthusiasm of our community, and we are proud to keep pushing boundaries, both in our programming and in the way we champion independent cinema.”
Doc’n Roll Jury Award – Best Music Doc of 2024
Six films in this year’s lineup are in competition for the Doc'n Roll Jury Award for Music Doc of the Year, judged by a panel of music and film industry luminaries:
● Caroline Catz (actress and director)
● DJ Paulette (DJ and broadcaster)
● Adam Thorsmark (CPH:DOX Film Festival programmer)
● Daniel Dylan Wray (music journalist)
● Nihal Arthanayake (broadcaster)
● Günseli Yalcinkaya (Features editor, Dazed Digital)
The shortlisted films in competition for the Best Doc Award are:
Teaches of Peaches
S/He Is Still Her/e – The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary
Swamp Dog Gets His Pool Painted
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story
Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story
Hakeem