Directed by Bill Ross IV & Turner Ross
USA | Documentary | 2016 | 107 min
Film Source: Oscilloscope
Sponsor: Lyric Theatre
Showtime: Sunday, October 30 | 6:30 p.m. | FH
Awards: Best Documentary Cinematography & Best Editing – Tribeca Film Festival
* Closing Night Film *
When David Byrne was asked by a high school color guard team for permission to use one of his songs for a routine, the restlessly innovative musical icon became intrigued by the unusual combination of dance-and-drill choreography and design work that color guard — the “sport of the arts” — showcases. So the former Talking Heads frontman conceived a spectacle that would marry 10 performances from the top teams in North America with original compositions by 10 adventurous and exciting musical acts, including St. Vincent, Ad-Rock (of The Beastie Boys), Ira Glass, Nelly Furtado and tUnE-yArDs. The cumulative result, captured in Contemporary Color, is a wild fusion of music, performance and cinema — an ebullient celebration of collaboration and imaginative audacity. Explaining his reasons for acquiring the distribution rights to the film, Oscilloscope Laboratories’ Dan Berger calls it “an otherworldly blend of athleticism, grace, spirit and art captured in an unbelievably electric and creative way. Watching Contemporary Color isn’t just watching a film. It is experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime performance that is so much more than the sum of its set list.” What better way, then, to commemorate the closing night of this year’s festival? ~SJ
