Celebrate the power of music this spring with the return of AFI’s Music Documentary Series presented by Audi.  Showcasing documentaries that go back stage, on tour, behind the scenes—and any other place that rocks—this popular series is delighted to return for its seventh season.

This year’s program features a rockin’ line up of five new documentaries—and five vintage favorites—that take an in-depth look at some of music’s most intriguing artists. Films will screen on five Wednesdays at ArcLight Hollywood, four Mondays at ArcLight Sherman Oaks with a Closing Night event at the Skirball Cultural Center.

EVENT INFORMATION
Tickets for the first two screenings will go on sale March 13. Each week following, the next two screenings tickets will become available until all are on sale. Tickets can be purchased at AFI.com.

ArcLight Hollywood
6360 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
Tickets are $12.00 ($1 off for AFI and ArcLight Members)

ArcLight Sherman Oaks
15301 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA
Tickets are $11.50 ($1 off for AFI and ArcLight Members)

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90049
Tickets are $10.00; $8 for AFI, Skirball, Union, Guild, ArcLight Members. $6 for Students.

AFI’s MUSIC DOCUMENTARY SERIES
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04.02.08 - Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve

OPENING NIGHT
April 2, 8:00 PM
ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD
GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS
2007 122 MIN
DIR Scott Hicks FEATURING Philip Glass

Philip Glass’s achievements in music—film scores, operas, symphonies—make him one of the most important composers of our era, crossing divides between elitist concert halls and popular venues. His minimalist compositions are so iconic that he has been featured as a character on THE SIMPSONS. Director Scott Hicks (SHINE, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS) gains access to confidants and situations that the average documentarian would never obtain. The film traces an eventful year in Glass’s life, as he stages the opera Waiting for the Barbarians, writes his eighth symphony, scores several films, travels the world and maintains a family with his fourth wife, Holly. Throughout the ups and downs, Glass maintains a Zen approach: “You don’t like my music? Listen to something else.”

Director Scott Hicks will participate in the Q&A following the screening.

04.07.08 - Young @ Heart

April 7, 8:00 PM
ARCLIGHT SHERMAN OAKS

YOUNG @ HEART
2007 107 MIN
DIR Stephen Walker

Since 1982, Young @ Heart, a chorus composed of senior citizens, has entertained audiences at home and abroad with unique renditions of punk, rock and rhythm-and-blues songs by musicians as disparate as the Clash, Coldplay, Sonic Youth and James Brown that force us to reexamine our assumptions about old age, love, sex and rock ‘n roll. Young @ Heart is a serious musical undertaking and a supportive community, and Stephen Walker's intimate documentary demonstrates that the Young @ Heart chorus only gets better with age.

Director Stephen Walker will participate in the Q&A following the screening.

04.09.08 - RHCP

April 9, 8:00 PM
ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: UNTITLED DOCUMENTARY
2008 112 MIN
DIR David Hausen FEATURING the Red Hot Chili Peppers

A documentary film chronicling the artistic collaboration between one of the biggest rock bands of all time, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and their music video directors: Tony Kaye (AMERICAN HISTORY X), Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) and Chris Rock (I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE). From birth of the song, to concept of the music video, and finally to the set, this film shows a unique behind the scenes view of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ creative life.

04.14.08 - HELP!

April 14,  7:30 PM
ARCLIGHT SHERMAN OAKS

HELP!
1965 90 MIN
DIR Richard Lester SCR Charles Wood FEATURING John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

A musical spoof of James Bond movies, HELP! the Beatles second film, has them pursued across the globe by a fanatical cult—and Scotland Yard—after Ringo accidentally puts on the cult’s ceremonial ring.

04.16.08 - Peter Tosh

April 16, 8:00 PM
ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD

PETER TOSH: STEPPING RAZOR: RED X
1992 103 MIN
DIR Nicholas Campbell FEATURING Peter Tosh, Edward 'Bigs' Allen, Lloyd 'Rocky' Allen, Andrea Davis, Sandra Dkiror, Roy Garrick, Ron Headley, Gary Isaacs, Junior, Kenile, Rab Leon, Lawrence Mabcoe, Sister Margaret, Sister P., Bruce 'Preacher' Robinson, Rabta Steve, Beresford Thompson, Thunder

Reggae artist, Jamaican folk hero, prophet, political radical—Peter Tosh’s life was as volatile as his death in 1987. STEPPING RAZOR: RED X chronicles the Tosh story from his youth through his stormy career with The Wailers, to a brilliant solo career and ultimately, his tragic murder. Using new and archival interviews and rare concert footage, director Nicholas Campbell captures the essence of the legend that was Peter Tosh.

04.21.08 - Neil Young

April 21, 7:30 PM
ARCLIGHT SHERMAN OAKS

NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD
2006 103 MIN
DIR Jonathan Demme FEATURING Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Ben Keith, Grant Boatwritght, Pegi Young

NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD is filmmaker Jonathan Demme’s (PHILADELPHIA, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, STOP MAKING SENSE) intimate portrait of legendary singer/songwriter Neil Young, filmed on the occasion of the world premiere of Young’s “Prairie Wind” concert at Nashville’s hallowed Ryman Auditorium. Young’s music provides an emotionally rich view into this unique artist’s relationship to family, friends, mortality and the passage of time.

04.23.08 - Joy Division

April 23, 8:00 PM
ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD

JOY DIVISION
2007 96 MIN
DIR Grant Gee FEATURING Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Tony Wilson, Peter Saville, Paul Morley, Annik Honore

In 1976 four young men from Manchester went to see the Sex Pistols. Then they formed a band, Joy Division. Three years later the lead singer, Ian Curtis committed suicide just as they were on the brink of worldwide success. The film investigates why Joy Division's collective musical genius and singular vision enjoys a larger audience and influence 30 years on. Featuring the unprecedented participation of the surviving band members of Joy Division, now known as New Order, the film chronicles a time of great social and political change in England in the mid-‘70s and tells the untold story of four men who transcended economic and cultural barriers to produce an enduring and profound legacy.

Producer Tom Atencio (and Joy Division/New Order manager for close to 20 years) will participate in the Q&A following the screening.

04.28.08 - Purple Rain

April 28, 7:30 PM
ARCLIGHT SHERMAN OAKS

PURPLE RAIN
1984 111 MIN
DIR Albert Magnoli SCR William Blinn, Albert Magnoli FEATURING Prince, Morris Day

When Prince's dazzling and dynamic PURPLE RAIN and the hypnotic hit single When Doves Cry exploded onto the pop-culture scene in 1984, it seemed there was nothing the purple one couldn't do. The film is basically a feature-length music video, but no musician has ever had a better big-screen showcase for his many talents. PURPLE RAIN is an essential artifact of the mid-'80s pop Zeitgeist. Prince took home an Oscar for the song score.

04.30.08 - Cachao: Uno Mas

April 30, 8:00 PM
ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD

CACHAO: UNO MAS
2008 68 MIN
DIR Dikayl Rimmasch FEATURING Israel Lopez 'Cachao', Andy Garcia, CineSon All Stars, John Santos, Ray Santos

A glimpse into the maestro’s life and music, CACHAO: UNO MAS pays tribute to one of the greatest Afro-Cuban musicians of all time, Israel Lopez ‘Cachao’. Produced by the DOC Film Institute at San Francisco State, the film features a live concert in San Francisco and interviews with musical collaborators Andy Garcia, John Santos, Ray Santos and Orestes Vilató who help trace Cachao's musical journey from early days in Cuba to worldwide fame and recognition.

Producer Andy Garcia will participate in the Q&A following the screening.

05.07.08 - CLOSING NIGHT - Don't Look Back

CLOSING NIGHT
May 7, 7:30 PM
SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTER
The screening will be followed by a reception.

DON’T LOOK BACK
1968 96 MIN
DIR/SCR D.A. Pennebaker FEATURING Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Donovan

DON’T LOOK BACK is a portrait of the artist as a young man. In spring 1965, Bob Dylan, 23, a pixyish troubadour, spends three weeks in England. Pennebaker's camera follows him from airport to hall, from hotel room to public house, from conversation to concert. Joan Baez and Donovan, among others, are on hand. It's the period when Dylan is shifting from acoustic to electric, a transition that not all fans, including Baez, applaud. From the opening sequence of Dylan holding up words to the soundtrack's Subterranean Homesick Blues, Dylan is playful and enigmatic in this one-of-a-kind documentary.

This screening is held in conjunction with the Skirball Cultural Center Exhibition:
Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956–1966
On view February 8 through June 8, 2008