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Big Ears 2026 Film Program |
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Our film program is one of the great highlights of the weekend, a perfect way to start each day before the music begins. Once again, we seek to showcase a dynamic mix of cinema that complements the festival’s spirit of artistic collaboration. |
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This year’s program is especially compelling. Among many highlights, we’re screening Ellis Park, longtime Bad Seed, Nick Cave collaborator and Dirty Three founder Warren Ellis’ documentary about an animal sanctuary he’s opened in Sumatra, including a Q&A with Mr. Ellis after the screening; writer and filmmaker Robert Gordon will join us in conversation with Joe Boyd for the second US screening of his documentary, Newport and the Great Folk Dream; Boyd will also join musicologist and curator of the renowned Ethiopiques music series, Francis Falceto, for a screening of Ethiopiques: Revolt of the Soul…plus documentaries about Sun Ra, Jeff Buckley, and so much more. |
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Ethiopiques: Revolt of the Soul |
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Director: Maciej Bochniak |
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A powerful documentary about Ethiopian jazz musicians who sparked a cultural revolution in 1960s Addis Ababa, were silenced by war and exile, and decades later return to the world stage—proving music’s enduring power to survive and redeem. |
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The first documentary feature on Robert Christgau, a pioneer who helped invent modern music criticism and redefine it through decades of writing at The Village Voice and beyond. From punk to funk to pop, Christgau’s sharp voice shaped generations of artists and critics. |
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Newport & The Great Folk Dream |
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Directors: Robert Gordon & Joe Lauro |
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From 1963–1966, the Newport Folk Festival became a catalyst for youth culture, protest music, and Bob Dylan’s evolution. Told by the artists who were there and built entirely from rare archival footage, this film reveals how music fueled democracy, diversity, and controversy. |
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Flore Laurentienne, la fin et le commencement |
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Director: Guillaume Monette |
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Neither fully documentary nor pure performance, this film captures composer Mathieu David Gagnon’s Flore Laurentienne through a hypnotic concert in a rural Quebec church. Blending live music, landscape, and quiet observation, it offers a serene immersion into sound deeply rooted in place. |
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Best known for his work with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and The Dirty Three, Warren Ellis is also the co-founder of a wildlife sanctuary in Sumatra. This intimate documentary reveals how music, activism, and collective care come together to create real-world impact. |
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September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill |
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Director: Larry Weinstein |
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Blending film, theatre, and concert performance, September Songs reimagines the music of Kurt Weill through an extraordinary ensemble of contemporary artists. The result is a dreamlike collage that bridges past and present, celebrating Weill’s enduring influence and social insight. |
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The Magic City: Birmingham According to Sun Ra |
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Directors: Guillaume Maupin & Pablo Guarise |
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Before he became Sun Ra, Herman Poole Blount came of age in Birmingham, Alabama. This film explores how the city’s political realities and hidden magic shaped his early music, mysticism, and worldview. |
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In the shadow of New Orleans rap legends Juvenile, B.G., and Soulja Slim, their sons come of age and pursue music of their own. Filmed over nearly eight years, this intimate documentary explores legacy, grief, and the pressures of destiny in a changing city. |
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It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley |
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Jeff Buckley’s singular voice reshaped 1990s music before his life was tragically cut short. Drawing on never-before-seen archives and intimate testimony from family, collaborators, and peers, this film explores the artist behind the myth and the legacy he left behind. |
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Director: Mathieu Amalric |
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Over more than a decade, Mathieu Amalric films John Zorn, saxophonist, composer, and improviser, as he navigates jazz, klezmer, noise, and experimental forms. Three films reveal the constellations of musicians, friendships, and boundless sonic energy that define his work. |
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