From the isolation of his secluded desert compound in Southern California, Edwin Borsheim, eccentric founder of the long forgotten shock metal band Kettle Cadaver, ruminates on a life of violence, mayhem and personal destruction lived on the absolute edge of the known musical universe. This is anything but your typical music doc of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. -Chris Metzler

Co-presented by Noise Pop

G.J.’s mother Cindy (Rene Russo), was the ultimate groupie of one-hit wonder 80’s new wave band OXO, and married G.J.’s stepfather Frank (Oliver Platt) with dreams of glamor and awards shows. It didn’t quite work out. Meanwhile, G.J. is getting ready to head off to film school, only to find his parents have blown his inheritance on a basement studio for his out-of-work drunk stepfather. Both Frank and Cindy swear this time they will change for sure, and G.J. turns a camera on them to catch their empty promise. A narrative version of his This American Life-featured documentary, director Echternkamp mines his own family’s imperfections for a touching and hilarious story of failure and denial. -Bears Fonte

After the film, please join us right down the street for DJ Shindog’s one hit wonder 80s/90s dance mix, open bar and some special surprises!

Hustlers Convention is a hip-hop history lesson that feels at times like a rap cousin of Searching for Sugar Man.  As the filmmaker goes in search of the artist behind the influential 1973 album Hustlers Convention that changed the world, Mike Todd’s documentary re-examines a lost ancestral moment of black consciousness and black pop culture.  Interviews include George Clinton, Fab 5 Freddy, Ice-T and Chuck D as the film builds to the album's first live performance by Jalal Nuriddin aka Lightnin' Rod. -Chris Metzler

Co-Presented by Noise Pop

Faced with the challenges of war and conflict, several musicians in post-9/11 Pakistan go on a quest for self-identity and start a music show designed to help reclaim the rich and vast musical heritage of the region. Bringing together unique cultural experiences and musical genres, including but not limited to Folk, Sufi, Rock, Pop and Rap, the filmmakers capture the show from its humble beginnings. The result is an experience that unifies eastern and western sounds to make music that resonated across the globe and inspired inward reflection. -Chris Metzler

Co-presented by Noise Pop

Prince goes Sahel in this remake of Purple Rain in the Saharan Desert.  The first feature film in the Tamashek language (which has no word for "purple," hence the title), the film tells the universal story of a musician trying to make it against all odds. With a purple robe and matching chopper, a smoking hot guitarist arrives in a music-mad Niger town and sets about wooing a local beauty, clashing with his pious father and fencing with the jealous king of the local scene until their climactic six-string shootout. -Chris Metzler

Co-presented by Noise Pop

Velvet-voiced soul singer Syl Johnson struggled for decades before leaving the music business in the 1980s to open a Chicago fried-fish chain. But with the dawn of hip hop came the unexpected, widespread embrace of his 1967 song “Different Strokes” – sampled by artists as diverse as Run-DMC, Michael Jackson, the Wu-Tang Clan, Beastie Boys, Kid Rock, En Vogue, Usher and Kanye West, among many others – and new opportunities for the savvy performer emerged. With a lively soundtrack and an original score by Yo La Tengo, this buoyant documentary celebrates one man who can’t stop the music. -Chris Metzler

Co-presented by Noise Pop

Uncover the real story behind punk rock perseverance. As lead singer of the seminal L.A. punk rock band The Skulls, Steven “Billy Bones” Fortuna was an early pioneer of the genre, creating a lasting influence for uncounted musical successors. This raucous documentary focuses on his unwavering perseverance amid adversity throughout the past four decades, and includes interviews with the many he inspired, including the guys of Green Day. -Chris Metzler

Co-presented by Noise Pop