Jacksonville's Sleeping Giant Fest opens at the historic Sun-Ray Cinema in Five Points this Thursday, March 30th with Chicago band Roommate performing a live score to the 1927 Lon Chaney silent film "The Unknown".
Film, music, photography, visual and sonic art will collide in this unusual line-up that is at times dark, as well as tongue-in-cheek, as a special screening of banned Bugs Bunny cartoons with film archivist Dennis Nyback will attest.
Sadly, Friday's John Waters live commentary screening of his film Serial Mom has already sold out. But there is still plenty of cool stuff to get in on, particularly for those with, lets say, eclectic taste (weirdos like me).
Film wise its a David Lynch heavy line-up with screenings of Eraserhead and the doc David Lynch: The Art Life. Saturday night features a special performance avant-noise makers Xiu Xiu performing their interpretation of the music from David Lynch's Twin Peaks. Roomate will also return Saturday night for a set of their own.
Music and film collide yet again with "The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale". Peers, collaborators, and haters, share their experiences with the legendary band over the past 30 years in this new documentary.
Sunday, HEXA (Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and composer Lawrence English) will present a sonic response to David Lynch’s Factory Photographs. In 2015, Brisbane’s Gallery Of Modern Art presented David Lynch : Between Two Worlds, a major retrospective of Lynch’s works across painting, sculpture, installation and photography. To celebrate the retrospective curator, José Da Silva , with David Lynch and his studio developed a number of commissions in conjunction with the exhibition. One of these commissions is HEXA’s sonic response to David Lynch’s Factory Photographs.
Sun-Ray Cinema owners and festival curators Tim & Shana Massett have put together an incredible line-up that you really must investigate for yourself, so check out the complete schedule here.
Keep it weird Jax.
PRESS RELEASE:
SUN-RAY CINEMA DEBUTS INAUGURAL SLEEPING GIANT FEST MARCH 30 – APRIL 2 JACKSONVILLE, FL (FEBRUARY 9, 2017) -- Over the last five years, Sun-Ray Cinema has diligently carved out a unique space for adventurous film programming while also reinventing how audiences enjoy blockbuster fare in Northeast Florida. Building on the successes we've seen at Sun-Ray we thought it was about time to present a concentrated version of the distinctive films and events we provide year round, thus Sleeping Giant Fest is born. From March 30 – April 2 Sleeping Giant Fest promises to open your eyes and perk your ears to work that often gets lost in the digital streams that dominate our viewing habits today. Throughout the year intriguing and provocative films with limited releases often get overlooked while others don’t even make it off the festival circuit. We aim to help you navigate an array of choices that often seems dizzying so you can immerse yourself in these so-called "less commercial" films, repertory titles, and screenings with exciting special guests while enjoying the communal experience that the cinema provides. With forty film and music events over four lively days, the 2017 lineup includes filmmaker John Waters giving his film SERIAL MOM "The Talkies" treatment, providing live commentary over a screening of the film, avant-garde ensemble Xiu Xiu playing the music of Twin Peaks, Chicago band Roommate, providing a live score to Lon Chaney’s compelling performance in the horror classic THE UNKNOWN (produced the very same year as the building in which it will screen opened), and a screening of “Ramen Western" TAMPOPO with a special noodle menu inspired by the film We are also delighted to feature a rare exhibition of Ghanaian movie poster art thanks to a partnership with Deadly Prey Gallery in Chicago. When rural West African villagers in the 80’s and 90’s wanted to watch a movie they’d visit a “video club” - a generator powered, outdoor A/V rig that featured the latest Bollywood, Nollywood, and Hollywood hits on VHS. Without access to commercial printers entrepreneurs promoted upcoming screenings with hand-painted posters that more often than not presented a bizarre take on the movie being advertised (given that the local artist commissioned typically hadn’t seen the film). As more “video clubs” popped up, competition for moviegoers heightened as did the intensity of sex and violence (and surrealism) reflected in these posters. Ghanaian movie poster art was an inspiration for the theme for Sleeping Giant Fest 2017, and we will highlight these original works of cinema infused with outsider art at all festival venues.