The most musical of Russia’s cinematic events, the Beat Film Festival will take place in Moscow for the ninth time from May 31 to June 10.
The festival showcases documentary films about the world of music, contemporary art, media, street culture, sports and new technology. It will screen more than a dozen full-length films and many shorts in various programs, including one to support Russian film directors, and hold all kinds of events — meetings with filmmakers, discussions, and parties.
In the Bloodlight: Films on Music
“Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” by British director Sophie Fiennes will open for the Beat at Strelka Institute on May 31. It’s not a biopic in the usual sense, but insight into modern-day life of the iconic singer, model and actress. Fiennes followed Jones, who just turned 70 years old, around the world and documented her concerts and after-parties in Dublin, Moscow and her homeland of Jamaica, showing her as an artist, grandmother and entrepreneur.
“’Bami’ is traditional Jamaican flatbread, while ‘bloodlight’ is the red light that lights up when an artist is recording. On stage Grace is free as a hippie, while off stage she’s a tenacious businesswoman. This reflects her many-sided character,” Nastya Gulenkova, communications manager of the festival, told The Moscow Times.
The film will be followed by a DJ set of artists to be announced.
“In the music program, I’d really recommend ‘Shut Up and Play the Piano,’ about pianist Chilly Gonzales who performed at the five-year anniversary of the Solyanka club and got a Grammy for his work on the latest Daft Punk album,” Gulenkova said. In the film Gonzales tells about his work collaborations and his Jewish father who arrived in Canada from Hungary penniless and made a fortune in a construction business. A Q&A session with the movie’s director Philipp Jedicke will take place after the screening at the Oktyabrsky Theater on June 9.