OFF THE CHARTS: THE SONG-POEM STORY

Showings

Roxie Theatre Sun, Jun 4, 2017 12:30 PM
Film Info
Director:Jamie Meltzer
Film Category:Music
Offbeat
Running Time:56 min.
Country:USA
Premiere:Local Filmmaker

Description

Off the Charts: The Song Poem Story is a fascinating and often hilarious documentary that exposes the strange underworld of the song-poem industry. In this little known subculture, "ordinary people" respond to come-on ads on the back pages of magazines ("Send in Your Lyrics and Make $50,000 in royalties!?), mailing in their heartfelt but often bizarre poems to "music industry" companies that, for a fee, turn those poems into real recordings. Through encounters with several song-poem writers, the jaded producers and musicians who set their words to music, and a few of the growing number of zealous song-poem connoisseurs, Off the Charts explores a truly unique, never-before-seen slice of Gothic Americana. Shocking, funny, and heart-wrenching all at once, Off the Charts is a fascinating look at one of the strangest subcultures in our American landscape.

Retrospective screening honoring this year's SF DocFest NonFiction Vanguard Award recipient, Jamie Meltzer.  Post-screening discussion with the filmmaker and film critic, Michael Fox.