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Written and directed by Robert ‘Hacker’ Jessett and Anne Gilpin, UK, 2020, 59 min
This is a Film About a Band' is an autobiographical creative documentary and debut film written and directed by Robert ‘Hacker’ Jessett and Anne Gilpin. Charting how their band, Morton Valence, became frustrated with the shenanigans of the music business and attempted to carve out a new way of navigating through it, with complete independence.
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This Is A Film About A Band
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About the Director:
Robert 'Hacker' Jessett and Anne Gilpin first collaborated together back in 1999 whicle working with Mark Murphy's contemporary dance/multi media company V-Tol (Without Trace).
Gilpin, a graduate of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, worked as a professional dancer/choreographer from 1998 to 2010, and is also a respected visual artist, having had her work exhibited in a variety of UK galleries, including the Royal Academy in London.
jessett has been involved in music most of his life, firstly as a member of 'The Band of Holy Joy', then later 'Alabama 3', before forming his own band 'Morton Valence' with Gilpin in 2001.
Apart from releasing 6 studio albums - and a 7th with their side project Black Angel Drifter - Morton Valence were winners of the Fopp Award for 'Best New Band' and are noted as being instrumental in the creation of the modern concept of crowdfunding.
It was while working with Mark Murphy (V-TOL) on the dance piece 'Without Trace' that both Jessett and Gilpin had their first interactions with the filmmaking process. Upon the completion of the aforementioned project, Jessett and Gilpin formed the band 'Morton Valence', which they regarded as an ideal platform to showcase their work, of which video making was an essential component, something that developed organically, stemming from a background in visual arts, and the practical requirement of simply needing video clips in order to promote music in the age of social media.
Fusing art music and video naturally developed into filmmaking, and Jessett and Gilpin completed their first short film - 'This is a Film About a Band' - in 2020, which is an autobiographical creative documentary, sourcing from hours of unseen film footage that New York based cartoonist Michael Pearlstein - and Sniz & Fondue (Nickelodeon) - had collated over many years.
Pearlstein had accompanied the band on number of tours and filmed many of the performances which form the backbone of 'This is a Film About a Band', charting Morton Valence's unique, and at times chaotic, career.
'This is a Film About a Band' is Jessett and Gilpin's debut film.
Film director:
Robert 'Hacker' Jessett and Anne Gilpin
About the Producer:
<p>Mike Pearlstein (now known as Mike R. Brandon) is the creator the Nikelodeon cartoon Sniz & Fondue.</p>
Screenplay:
Robert 'Hacker' Jessett and Anne Gilpin
Editing:
robert 'Hacker' Jessett and Ed Ward
Film synopsis:
This is a Film About a Band' is an autobiographical creative documentary and debut film written and directed by Robert ‘Hacker’ Jessett and Anne Gilpin. Charting how their band, Morton Valence, became frustrated with the shenanigans of the music business and attempted to carve out a new way of navigating through it with complete independence - this has since evolved into what is commonly referred to as 'crowdfunding'.
However, they clearly took on more than they bargained for.
Wilfully DIY and dreamlike in its style, 'This is a Film About a Band' is not your typical 'rockumentary' of talking heads and voiceover narration, but rather an audiovisual, and at times chaotic, rollercoaster ride that will likely mirror the trajectory of many a struggling musician. The narrative is captioned, the music is non-stop and features some incendiary live performances of this extraordinary UK band who have survived relative commercial indifference for the last 20 years or so, yet succeeded in creating a wealth of highly original music.
'This is a Film About a Band' is a lo-fi, rock 'n' roll, arthouse gem.
The film can also combine with a live performance by Morton Valence.
There is also a Spanish language version - 'Esta Es Una Película Sobre Un Grupo'.
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Festival selections:
Doc'N Roll Film Festival, UK - Official Selection 2020
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