SEEYOUSOUND 11 DIARY – DAY 4

The fourth day of Seeyousound 11, or SYS Eleven as it appears on the poster, has as its highlight the screening of My Way directed by Thierry Teston (in collaboration with Liza Azuelos) and the live set by the Bluebeaters in the evening programme. The film tells the story of the genesis of a legendary song, made famous by Frank Sinatra and become one of the most covered of all time, from Sid Vicious to Tom Jones by way of “the King” Elvis Presley, but which actually has a long history. Narrated by the voice of Jane Fonda, this song crossed eras and borders, conceived in France by Jacques Revaux in March 1967 in Megève, and then completed in August by Revaux and Claude François, poolside at the Moulin de Dannemois on a summer afternoon. From here a journey begins all the way to the Hall of Fame. After the screening, room for the instruments of the Bluebeaters, with their lively mix of ska, pop, rock and reggae and the distinctive mood that has set them apart for some 30 years now. Fun and rhythm guaranteed, with the most exuberant spectators dancing in front of the “stage”. Yet another colourful live set of this edition.

The day at Cinema Massimo was kicked off by the documentary Omar &  Cedric: if this ever gets weird, in competition in the Long Play Doc section, which tells the story of Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, founders of the cult bands At the Drive-In and Mars Volta. The film is made up of hours and hours of home footage that Omar shot over the years, going back to his childhood. The protagonists recount their experience in interview format as they pass through all the different phases of their lives up to the present day. They held back on nothing, showing great transparency and all their humour, without fear of appearing eccentric. A film that makes you realise how much more than their music Omar and Cedric are.

In Screen 2 Rondolino began the concorso 7 Inch, dedicato ai corti e curato da Piero di Bucchianico e Sara Visconti. This year the curators decided to divide the short films into three categories: Fiction, Animation and Docs. The first of these categories opened the proceedings. The films that followed in succession were:
– Elevación di Gabriel Esdras (2024, Messico, 28′) in anteprima italiana
– A toi les oreilles di Alexandre Isabelle (2024, Canada, 13′) in anteprima italiana
– Deep in my heart is a song di Jonathan Pickett (2023, Usa, 16′) in anteprima italiana
– Hymn of the plague by Ataka 51 (2024, Germany-Russia, 13′)

Before the shorts we had the Italian premiere of the Irish film All You Need Is Death directed by Paul Duane, in competition in the LP Feature section. A touch of horror for the festival, with protagonists Anna and Aleks, young “music hunters”, who stumble upon a disturbing affair because of a taboo song. Closing the day in Screen 2 was Googoosh – Made of Fire, the documentary celebrating the extraordinary career of Googoosh, absolute diva of Iranian music and cinema. On stage since the age of two, in the 1970s she conquered the world with hits in 15 languages and collaborations with legendary artists such as Tina Turner and Ray Charles. After being arrested by the Iranian authorities, Googoosh then (once released, of course) moved to the United States and staged a great comeback. It is a . A truly beautiful portrait of a woman, an avowed opponent of the Iranian regime, who fought to live her life her own way. It is a film full of great music and conversations as Googoosh performs, sits down and talks about her life with director Niloufar Taghizadeh. The film is part of the Rising Sound section.

Meanwhile at Circolo del Design Frequencies began, the Seeyousound section dedicated to the art of live scoring and to the evolving component of sound in relation to image. The first artist to perform was Timo Hoogland, a Dutch musician devoted to live coding, algorithmic music composition, in combination with images. From this alchemy come live performances and interactive audiovisual installations. His works invite visitors to reflect on the transparency of technology and the accessibility of software. The visuals become fragmented screens showing both geometric images generated live with the software Hydra, and the source code that generates the sound. The Frequencies performances do not end here: on Tuesday 26th it is the turn of the live set by Chantssss.