When the Bands Stopped Playing

Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic(en)

Last week Freddie Mercury would have celebrated his 60th birthday. To mark the occasion, celebrity fans Robbie Williams, McFly and Mike Myers talk about what they think made him so special. Photographs, home video footage and rarely heard interviews with the man himself are featured and some of Freddie's close friends and family reveal the man behind the magic.

Talking Heads: The Name of this Programme is Once In A Lifetime(en)

In 1984, David Byrne put together a TV special on the Talking Heads for U.K. TV’s Channel 4, a 68-minute mix of live material filmed at Wembley Arena, interviews with the band, TV news clips, commercials and other various bits of found footage and sound.

Linha de Frente Brasil(pt)

The film also recorded the beginning of the pandemic in China through the lens of international correspondent Marcelo Espíndola, roasting in São Paulo, Santos, Manaus and Pará. As well as Dr. Roberto Eballos (Doctor and Master in Immunology), Dr. Gustavo Pasquarelli (Infectious) and 23 other health professionals.

Grateful Dead: Cornell '77(en)

A short documentary about the Grateful Dead's legendary May 8, 1977 show at Barton Hall at Cornell University.

Junk Story(ja)

A look back at the life and career of Japanese guitarist hide, who died under questionable circumstances in 1998.

Why Am I Doing This? (A Film About Touring)(en)

This is a film about touring musicians who don't care about making it in the music business and all of the hardships they face without the fame.

Uma Banda Made in Brazil(pt)

The Brazilian band Made In Brazil is featured in Guinness World Records as the group with the largest number of formations in the history of rock and roll. Also, no wonder, since the late 1960s, brothers Oswaldo and Celso Vecchioni have shared stages and studios with more than 200 groups of different musicians. This is their story, filled with rock and roll, some drugs and a lot of love for music.

Diário da Pandemia(pt)

Swagger of Thieves(en)

Over a decade in the making, Swagger of Thieves follows rock band Head Like a Hole from the top of the charts to the bottom of a needle. Staring down their age, two pals and the main guts of HLAH, frontman Nigel Booga Beazley and 'co- conspirator' Nigel Regan strut the hard road out of hell, fighting to reconnect and return their band to past glory, amidst disgruntled band mates, a changed music industry, and disappointed wives. Struggling to place past addictions and sabotaged dreams behind them in their continuing quest for rock music relevance, the ever-collapsing binary stars of any Head Like a Hole lineup, are certain (not) to polish their legacy here. Swagger of Thieves captures what it means to be in a band with a reputation. Unrelentingly raw, wild and honest, to the point of being one of the most insightful music documentaries ever made. Essential viewing. New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF), Melbourne International Documentary Film Festival (MIDFF)

As Seen by the Unseen(en)

In this collaborative film, documentary filmmakers and photographers from around the world reflect on the mass movements and protests during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Never Again Is Now Global(en)

Holocaust survivors, children of survivors, and grandchildren - as well as German freedom fighters - express their shock at the Covid era's fear-mongering and divisive dictates that are reminiscent of the prelude to the Holocaust. This ambitious five-part docu-series is the brainchild of Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Vera Sharav.

Untitled Modest Mouse Documentary(en)

Documentary about the indie rock band Modest Mouse made around 1997, as they were recording their second album, The Lonseome Crowded West

The Night That Changed Rock(en)

Forty years later, rock legends Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey sat down for first-of-a-kind, exclusive interviews with WCPO Anchor Tanya O’Rourke. Their candid revelations about the horrific night of Dec. 3, 1979 in Cincinnati form the basis for O'Rourke's historical documentary, "The Who: The Night That Changed Rock."

The first wave - Milan in the time of Covid-19(it)

The choral work of 57 directors and filmmakers who tell stories of Milan at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soviet Submarine(en)

On March 26th, 2020, seven boys locked themselves in a house for 48 hours, with only potatoes, bread, and red light for survival. Watch the chaos unfold and tension rise between the comrades as they struggle to find a cure before it's too late.

Isolation(en)

A collective documentary film, from five european directors asked to witness the revolutions and dramas caused in their own countries by the pandemic. Among them, “Two Fathers”, directed by Julia von Heinz (20’). After the death of his father, Hans-Michael von Heinz, the director finds out the truth about her parent true sexual identity. In order to know more, she starts emailing persons who got to know him over the last years, among them his closest friend, director Rosa von Praunheim.

The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde or Rock Life(fr)

A journey through the artistic life of the British-American rock band The Pretenders, formed in 1978, and a portrait of its leader, the charismatic singer and songwriter Chrissie Hynde.

Race for the Vaccine(en)

As news of the coronavirus broke around the globe, a small group of scientists jumped into action to tackle one of the greatest medical challenges of our time: to create a vaccine against a virus no one had ever seen before, and to do so in record time, during a deadly, global pandemic.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil(en)

At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal" influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.

Love in the Time of Corona(en)

A video essay by Mark Rappaport, which spans René Magritte and Michelangelo to Bonnie & Clyde. Let’s mask up to rob a bank! But make sure that you are home before the curfew.