American Epic

Director: Bernard MacMahon

Year: 2021

Tracing the journey of the four members of Led Zeppelin, the 'Stairway To Heaven' rockers, through the music scene of the 1960s to their meeting in the summer of 1968. Culminating in 1970 when Led Zeppelin II's 'Whole Lotta Love' knocked The Beatles off the top of the charts and launched what would become the biggest band in the world. Featuring new interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, as well as rare archival interviews with the late drummer John Bonham, and previously unseen archive imagery, state of the art audio transfers of the band’s music, and music that influenced the band’s sound. Official Selection Venice Film Festival 2021 - Out of Competition - World premiere

Director: Bernard MacMahon

Year: 2015

This film is a haunting collision of past and present, presided over by the high priests of the great tradition of American music, Jack White and T Bone Burnett, who also executive produced with Robert Redford. Long before digital file sharing, MP3, compact discs, tape and vinyl, a machine was forged from ingenuity. The Western Electric lathe, a marvel of analogue engineering operated by a weight and pulleys, pioneered the recording of American music. In an old Hollywood studio, one has been lovingly reassembled. In it, White gathers an extraordinary convocation of musical superstars, all keen to cut a record in the unforgiving three minutes the Western Electric provides. Featuring live performances from Elton John, Nas, Willie Nelson, Alabama Shakes, Steve Martin, Ana Gabriel, Merle Haggard, Taj Mahal and many more. (LFF brochure) BFI London Film Festival 2015 - World premiere

Director: Siobhan Silén

Year: 2027

An animated VR short inspired by autistic musician Jen Msumba, who defies a system designed to erase her through synaesthetic music-making. It explores the universal need to be accepted for who we are. Participants journey through Jen’s life, from childhood, when the world feels confusing and “wonky”. Music is her safety and compass. While others read notes on a page, Jen sees visual maps that help her express emotions and navigate uncertainty. As a teenager, Jen’s mother becomes ill and her anxiety overwhelms her. Years of psychiatric institutions and medication leave her sedated, unable to play instruments. Her family sends her to the Judge Rotenberg Center, whose practices will later be described by the United Nations as torture. Over seven years of confinement and painful electric shocks, Jen is taught to believe she is “wrong”. Secretly composing music in her head becomes her refuge. Realising the centre will not support her independence, Jen writes to a judge and wins her freedom. She rediscovers music and invites us into her musical map, where participants touch and transform notes through movement, shifting melodies from classical to punk rock. We end with Jen performing on stage.