Movies and music merge at Minneapolis’ 9th Annual Sound Unseen Festival, Oct. 23 – 30

By Lindsey McElroy
DePaul Reporter

“This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling…the fact that we're standing here tonight…it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.” - Marketa Irglova, 2007 Oscar acceptance speech

For so many independent films like “Once” the festival circuit is the beginning of its life. For nearly two dozen emerging filmmakers, Minneapolis’ upcoming Sound Unseen Festival will hopefully not be the end.

Now in its ninth year, Sound Unseen showcases music documentaries, rare concert footage and interactive cinema. It is a self-proclaimed “festival for Minnesota music lovers.” What it is not is main stream.

With nearly two dozen screenings over the course of the week, the festival brings exposure for both filmmakers and the artists who are their subjects. There are no big names or big budgets surrounding the films, just a desire to reach a broader audience. Richard Hansen, director of Sound Unseen, prides himself on his ability to navigate the offbeat, independent scene. “I have a staff of curators and programmers hanging around the festival scene. It’s really just about keeping our ear to the ground,” he says.

What began in 2001 solely as a film festival has evolved to include live music performances and post-screening events across the city. Although festival organizers offer incentives to those who attend both the screening and the after-party on any given night, they remain conscious of never becoming too exclusive. “We try to mix it up and offer something for everyone. And we try to match the venues and events to the mood of the film,” Hansen says.

But for Hansen, it’s not the after-parties or rubbing elbows with emerging musicians and filmmakers that makes the job, it’s the films. “When we find a film that we want to feature in the festival, it’s an excitement we all share,” he says. “It’s a pleasure that comes from knowing people are going to enjoy them.”

This year’s line-up covers all genres of music from punk to heavy metal, hip hop to classical. But, according to Hansen, each film shares a common thread - the themes of passion, friendship, loss and triumph.

“It all comes down to storytelling,” film director Ben Niles adds. “If you’re going to reach a bigger audience, you have to have other themes involved than just music.” Niles’ film “Note by Note” follows the creation of a Steinway concert grand piano, #L1037. Yet, the real story lies in the relationship between artist and instrument, whether it is the craftsman who builds it by hand, the pianist who plays it on stage or the child who receives it as a gift.

Another film entitled “War Child,” directed by first-time filmmaker C. Karim Chrobog, tells the story of hip-hop artist Emmanuel Jal, a survivor of the civil war in Sudan whose music is a channel for awareness and change.

On a lighter note, Sacha Gervasi’s film “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” scheduled to close the festival, is the story of a heavy metal band’s desperate journey to escape obscurity.

For each of these filmmakers, Sound Unseen is proof of what Ben Niles believes. “You can have decent film, a film that people enjoy, that doesn’t go to Cannes or Sundance and it can have a life.”