Music elates, touches the soul and bypasses reason. Music is magic. But precisely this magic can turn it into an insidious weapon for music and violence belong together. The brutal power of African war dances, the ferocity of Maori Hakas, the earth-shattering roar of US sound guns blasting Metallica at Taliban hideouts the principle is always the same: Aggressive sounds demoralise the enemy and whip the allies into a frenzy. In Songs of War, director Tristan Chytroschek explores the extraordinary harmony between music and violence. Sesame Street composer, Christopher Cerf, always wanted his music to be fun and entertaining. But then he learned that his songs had been used to torture prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. He is stunned by this abuse of his work and wants to find out how this could happen.
Tristan Chytroschek
Director
Christopher Cerf
Presenter
Thomas Keenan
Human Rights Project, Bard College, New York
Chris Arendt
Former Guard, Guantanamo Bay
Herb Friedman
Psychological Operations Expert, US Army
Mike Ritz
Former Interrogator, US Army
Nathalie Gosselin
Music Psychologist, Université de Montréal
Moazzam Begg
Former Detainee, Guantanamo Bay And Bagram
Morag Josephine Grant
Musicologist, University Of Göttingen
Mike Luce
Drowning Pool
C.J. Pierce
Drowning Pool
Vahan Simidian II
CEO, HPV Technologies
Through its morbidly humorous storytelling, Wednesday tells a tale of a world divided that explores the manifestation of generational trauma in its protagonist Wednesday Addams.
The film basically says she was a lost cause from the start. We don't get a sense of who Marilyn was.
The Olivia Wilde renaissance is upon us.
Films staring black transgender actresses/actors are few and far between, it’s refreshing to see a demographic represented in film that hardly gets any attention. This is especially important as the Black trans community has been shown in studies to face the highest level of discrimination amongst general trans and non-binary groups. That is why it’s so crucial that we amplify their voices through any way we can, storytelling being a great medium to do so.
The tragedy of Macbeth got Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Production design & cinematography. The Tragedy of Macbeth - Oscar film offers an etheric and atmospheric take on the reins cast on one of Shakespeare's most iconic poems.
Hope has great characters, inventive ideas, an incredible imagination, a palpable intensity, and numerous other aspects that make it one of the best of the year.