5th Annual Music Video Asheville

A Showcase to Highlight The Pairing of Asheville Musicians & Filmmakers

Join Asheville’s music and film elite on the red carpet for the 5th anniversary celebration of Music Video Asheville (MVA) on Wednesday, May 9 at the Cinebarre. Watch music videos by Asheville’s premier musicians and filmmakers on the big screen as they vie for the $500 cash prize and studio time at Echo Mountain.

Donned in your Grammy-style attire (with an Asheville flare) you can sip champagne and pose for the paparazzi on the red carpet until seating starts at 7:15 p.m. Don’t miss this all-star event and your chance to vote for your favorite Asheville music video!

For those wishing to arrive in style and depart responsibly, board the New Belgium Brewing VIP Party Bus, which picks up and drops off at One Stop Deli and Bar, the location of the Official After Party with DJ Molly Parti. The After Party is $5, or included with VIP ticket purchase. VIP tickets are $30 and include pick-up and drop off at Cinebarre, champagne and New Belgium beer on the bus, red carpet drop off in a classic car, VIP seating, and admission to after party. Only 30 VIP tickets are available. They can be purchased online, at the One Stop, or at Harvest Records.

Stay tuned to MVA’s Red Carpet Sponsor, 98.1 the River, for announcements and a VIP ticket giveaway. We will also be making announcements about the who’s who of entries, as well as information about the guest speakers and the judging panel.

Tickets can be purchased at the Cinebarre, Harvest Records, and Orbitz DVD in West Asheville; at the One Stop and the Honeypot downtown. General admission is $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Purchase VIP tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/241264.

Advance tickets are recommended due to sell out and limited space. For more details visit www.musicvideoasheville.com.

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Sounds of Silence: Silent Cinema in the Sound Era: Part 2

by Chip Kaufmann

This is the second part of an article focused on silent movies which were made after the advent of sound. These are films that were made outside of America.

Nearly 60 years before The Artist, French director Jacques Tati made a pair of virtually silent, Chaplinesque style comedies featuring his character Monsieur Hulot, They were M. Hulot’s Holiday (1953), and Mon Oncle (1958). The latter won the Oscar that year for Best Foreign Film. When Tati came to America to receive the award, he visited Stan Laurel, Buster Keaton and Mack Sennett. Keaton said that Tati was “carrying on the true tradition of silent cinema.” However no one would follow in Tati’s footsteps until 1981.

That year an Italian director (Ettore Scola) made a film in France that traced the 90 year history of a Parisian dance hall using only period music and dances from ragtime to disco. The movie was Le Bal (The Ball) and it was a surprise hit in Europe while garnering good reviews here.

Six years later Scottish producer Don Boyd conceived of an elaborate film where 10 celebrated directors (Robert Altman, Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard to name a few) would each make a short film with an opera aria being the only accompaniment. The 1987 film Aria was fascinating though mixed but it opened up the possibilities of what a modern silent film could do.

The real catalyst was the 1996 documentary Lumiere & Company which was intended to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the development of the first practical movie camera. Several celebrated directors, 40 to be exact, were asked to take part by using an original Lumiere Brothers camera. The catch is that they only have one minute of film to work worth.

Such luminaries as David Lynch, Spike Lee, Peter Greenaway, and Arthur Penn tried their hand at it and the results are both fascinating and/or maddening.

Two years later Russian director Alexander Balbanov adopted silent film techniques (sepia tinted film stock, variable shooting speeds, an appropriate music score) to create an unforgettable film portrait of St. Petersburg at the dawn of cinema.

Of Freaks and Men tells a multi-character story involving singing Siamese twins, a pornographer who switches from photographs to movies, and two well-to-do women who are forever changed by meeting them. Once seen its images cannot be forgotten but it is definitely not for everyone.

The turn of the 21st century brought about two salutes to silent comedy from two very different parts of the world. In 2000 an East European film called Tuvalu features a Buster Keaton like character trying to save a decrepit bathhouse from a greedy developer.

Imagine a Keaton comedy with the look of David Lynch’s Eraserhead and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. It’s bizarre but light hearted.

Over in South America, Margarette’s Feast (2003) a Brazilian film about a poor man’s dilemma of what to do with a suitcase full of money he has stumbled upon, deliberately recalls the Chaplin films City Lights and Modern Times. This brings us to The Artist.

This 2011 French comedy about a silent film actor sent into a downward spiral by the arrival of sound, surprised everyone by winning several top Oscars and doing good box office. It has also introduced a new generation (generations actually) to the techniques used in silent movies and proved their viability as a contemporary cinematic art form not just a relic from the past.

For the moment, interest in silent films has never been higher although they had never really gone away. Whenever you watch a music video or view any film without spoken dialogue, you are watching or have been watching a “silent movie”.

All of the films profiled above are currently available (or soon will be) on DVD. They are available for purchase or for rental from online retailers and/or locally owned video stores such as Rosebud or Orbit DVD.

If you enjoyed or were intrigued by The Artist, then you should definitely check out these and other, older silent films. An excellent way to get started toward an appreciation of silent films is to watch Silent Sunday Nights on Turner Classic Movies every Sunday night starting at midnight. Just use the recording device of your choice so you can watch it at your leisure.