Seeing Music: A Music Documentary & Conversation Series

Seeing Music: A Music Documentary & Conversation Series

The NOCCA Institute will collaborate with the New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) on a new music documentary series titled “Seeing Music,” which will celebrate New Orleans’ hometown heroes by showcasing films by and about New Orleans musicians. Screenings will be held in Freda Lupin Memorial Hall on the NOCCA campus at 2800 Chartres Street.

Other partners on Seeing Music include WWOZ 90.7FM and OffBeat.

The series will kick off at 7pm on February 5th, 2019 with the WWOZ-produced documentary Closeup: Tank & the Bangas. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Tank and the Bangas and director Charlie Steiner of WWOZ. The conversation will be moderated by musician and actor Derrick Freeman.

On March 14th, the series offers Lily Keber’s Buckjumping. This documentary about New Orleans dance culture explores six different communities, each one a unique example of tradition, resistance, and collective exaltation of the city. Buckjumping had its world premiere in October 2018 at the 29th New Orleans Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Louisiana Documentary Feature and the Best Cinematography Prize (Louisiana Feature). Keber will lead a conversation about the film after the screening, alongside participants in the documentary.

A third screening will be held on April 11, and a surprise film and conversation will be announced in early February.

Admission to “Seeing Music” is FREE for New Orleans Film Society members and NOCCA students. Tickets are available to the public for $10, or guests can become a member of the New Orleans Film Society at neworleansfilmsociety.org/become-a-member.

Join the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/230409741230177/


JUST THE FACTS

Seeing Music: A Music Documentary & Conversation Series
presented by the New Orleans Film Society

Venue: All films will be shown in Lupin Hall, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, 2800 Chartres Street, New Orleans

Dates:

  • February 5, 2019 – Closeup: Tank & the Bangas
  • March 14, 2019 – Buckjumping
  • April 11, 2019 – TBA soon

Time: Mingle with other music lovers from 7pm – 7:30pm with a cash bar in the lobby of Lupin Hall. Film begins at 7:30pm, post-film Q&A to follow.

FILM #1 — Closeup: Tank and the Bangas February 5, 2019, 7pm
Tickets are available at https://sforce.co/2QBHTPp

Closeup: Tank and the Bangas, dir: Charlie Steiner, USA, 2018, 35 min.
This WWOZ documentary is an in-depth profile of the exciting New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas as they surge to national prominence. The film pulses with fiery poetry and the band’s infectious music that defies categories.

Tank and The Bangas were formed in 2011 at an open mic set in New Orleans, centered at a shotgun house, Jerk Chicken Sam’iches and a drum set. Instantaneously this group knew that they had something that stirred crowds that cried out for original music from them. Combining the various musical technique among the Bangas, coupled with the instilling play on lyrics from the lead vocalist; Tank and The Bangas have quilted a unique sound that singles them as one of the most distinctive groups to come out of New Orleans. Group members include Tank/ Lead vocalist/Norman Spence on Bass/keyboard, Joshua Johnson/Drums, Merell Burkett/keys/ Nita Bailey/Percussion; and various other Bangas.

FILM #2 — Buckjumping – March 14, 2019, 7pm
Tickets are available at https://sforce.co/2RMf2ws

Buckjumping, dir: Lily Keber, USA, 2018, 80 min.
Way downtown, a crowd gathers to watch the men of the Nine Times Social Aid and Pleasure Club show out on their second-line Sunday. At Seal’s in the 7th Ward and Sportsman’s Corner in Central City, hard-working drag king Hustler entertains his adoring public. After school, the young ladies of the Edna Karr High School dance team practice for the big parade. And before dawn on Mardi Gras day, the indians of the Creole Wild West set out on their long patrol across the city. On any day of the week, in any corner of the city, the people of New Orleans are on their feet, dancing to mourn the dead, to celebrate life, and to leave their everyday routines for a moment of pure joy. Featuring interviews with DJ Jubilee, Mannie Fresh, Mia X, and more, the second feature by Lily Keber (Bayou Maharaja) offers a panoramic view of the city’s ever-evolving dance traditions.

FILM #3 — A surprise third film screening and conversation will be announced in February – April 11, 2019, 7pm