Autumn music can be enjoyed without getting out of your armchair
Autumn is a great time for watching films. If you missed the Love & Anarchy film festival that ended last week, don’t worry: Finland’s biggest music film festival Rokumentti will take over Joensuu from 13-17 November.
Rokumentti, organised in the Tapio Cinema Centre, celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. The theme is explosiveness, which the festival justifies with the current world situation. The aim is to use cinema to address explosive themes, while at the same time exploding prejudices.
“The world is a powder keg. All topics feel flammable in numbed hands. Things explode in social media, and people rage at each other. Sometimes what explodes is also, thankfully, joy,” says the festival’s website.
In addition to the theme films, Rokumenti will screen a wide range of films on music, popular culture and society. The full festival programme will be published in the coming weeks and tickets for screenings will go on sale on 28 October.
The festival will kick off on 24 October with the screening of The Tour To End All Tours, about the metal band Sabaton, on Tapio’s big screen. The pyrotechnics-filled concert film follows the Swedish band on the biggest tour of their career in 2023.
The documentary is organised by Joensuun Popmuusikot ry, a live music association familiar from Ilosaarirock. The festival has become a tradition and has presented more than 700 films in its history, many of which have had their Finnish premieres.
If you can’t make the trip to Joensuu, you can also watch music-themed films from the comfort of your own home.
Last week, a three-part British documentary on shock rocker Marilyn Manson was released, exploring the sexual assault allegations against Manson and their impact on his career. The documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Karen McGann, was one of the first to premiere on Yle Arena, with screenings in countries such as Spain and France in November and the UK next year.
A less controversial documentary is Road Diary, about Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Thom Zimny, who has directed several music-related films, follows Springsteen as he prepares for his mammoth stadium gigs. The documentary will be released on Hulu and Disney+ streaming services on 25 October.
