Honestly, if you’re putting on a festival of music documentaries and come up with the name Doc’N’Roll, you deserve a high five from the universe.
And it’s clearly worked out for them – the fest is gearing up for its 11th edition this year, and they’ve just announced a seriously impressive lineup. As usual, there will be a wide array of musical styles represented, diving deep into the crevices of obscure subgeneres, while still catering to more mainstream tastes. And, as always, they’re championing the representation of minorities & marginal voices in the music industry. But, in an unexpected twist, the festival’s now so huge it’s being held in a dozen cities across the UK.
Of course, London will still be the focal point, with the bulk of the screenings taking place here. A few of the highlights include:
- Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale Of Two Dirtys (BFI Southbank) – the story of the late Russell Tyrone Jones, who founded the Wu Tang by creating an alter ego who would eventually consume him.
- Teaches Of Peaches (Barbican / Rio Dalston) – a look at the biting wit & talent for cultural upending abounding in Merrill Nisker, AKA Peaches.
- This Is A Film About The Black Keys (BFI Southbank) – if you can believe it, this is a film about
Justin BieberThe Black Keys - Yesterday’s Girl: The Untold Story Of Scotland’s Girl Bands (Rio Dalston) – a decade-by-decade adventure charting the dizzying ups and tragic downs of Scotland’s various girl bands.
- It’s All Gonna Break/ Broken Social Scene (Hackney Picturehouse) – a film about a fascinating band, filmed in a time “before everyone had a camera in their pocket”.
The organisers have done some amazing work in lining up the creators of the films & the bands themselves to help round out the screenings, and you’ll find frequent Q&As with the key people involved, dozens of premieres, plenty of acoustic performances from the bands featured, and more.
At the end of it all, as with any film, hopefully they get a lot of credits.
NOTE: Doc’N’Roll is slated to run between 24th October & 10th November 2024. You can find out more, and get tickets to the various shows at the Doc’N’Roll website.
Like movies? Well, you’ll like this list of London’s best cinemas then.