FRIDAY MAY 9
9:00 PM VT
FRIDAY MAY 9
9:00 PM CIN
Unplugged
Las Vegas Meditation
Who would have thought that one of the most traditional Serbian musical instruments actually grows on trees? The leaf has been an important folkloric companion for centuries. But if you think this is odd, then wait until you meet the people who play the leaf. To wit: Vera, a mesmerizing woman who seems to have popped straight out from an Emir Kusturica film! Vera is probably one of the best leaf players in the world, as well as being a former private detective. To truly master the leaf is no joke, as an instrument it requires patience, practice, and a rigorous attunement. Josip learned to play the hard way. An amateur inventor and musical instrument builder, he sets out to learn this rare skill by traveling through the beautiful Serbian countryside in search of the best players. Unfortunately, the tradition is dying out and only a few people can master the art of playing the leaf. “In the old days everyone knew this… Now, we are all mute,” says Pera, an old village habitant and leaf musician. -NW
Leonard Cohen may not have had Las Vegas in mind when he wrote his apocalyptic anthem, The Future, but it fits nicely with this film. Florent Tillon (familiar to DOXA fans from his film Detroit Wild City) takes an anthropological lens to Las Vegas, Nevada. What he finds is some curious new species of Americana. The Road Warrior vibe gets off to a roaring start as a gang of motorcyclists buzz through the freeways, popping wheelies past huge derelict developments. Abandoned in the crash of 2008, these housing tracks are padlocked and chained off, home only to colonies of dust. In the face of such end-of-empire imagery, it might be easy to get a little depressed, but a cheerful brand of punk fatalism has sparked an underground literary and music scene. A gathering of Doom metal bands loudly proclaims their acceptance, even pride in the decay of the place.
Mladen Kovačević, Serbia, 2013, 52 mins
Preceded by
Small Instruments
Edyta Wróblewska, Poland, 2013, 20 mins
“I never ask: Am I clever or am I crazy?” says Paweł Romańczuk, a young experimental musician. He and his friends rescue old tin music boxes and toy pianos, record their sounds, and create new forms of instrumentation. Genius! Small Instruments is a beautiful musical journey combined with surrealist stop motion animation. A joy for the eyes, ears, and soul! -NH
Florent Tillon, France, 2014, 90 mins
“People don’t belong, the land wants them gone,” opines one urban philosopher. He may not be wrong. (Suicide rates in Las Vegas are amongst the highest in the US.) With the California drought reaching catastrophic levels, the question of water may be the thing that tips the scales. The underground aquifer that once sustained the city has been long drained dry. Historian Michael Green says, “Las Vegas shouldn’t be where it is.” But a city of more than two million people, not to mention innumerable fountains and golf courses, demands water. The idea to build a pipeline to bring in water is “The worst idea in the history of humanity,” according to Green. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. This is Las Vegas, after all, the Mecca of truly terrible ideas. -DW
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