Playing for Change 3 - Songs Around the World

The Blues Brothers(en)

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Daybreak Express(en)

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

Komeda, Komeda...(pl)

A feature-length documentary on the life and work of jazz musician and composer Krzysztof Komeda.

Ray(en)

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.

Liberty's Secret(en)

The daughter of a preacher becomes the centerpiece for a conservative political campaign but finds herself falling in love with a woman.

Sonny Sharrock Band - Lucerna Hall Prague 4.10.90(en)

The Sonny Sharrock Band live in Prague as part of the Knitting Factory Festival Tour of Europe 1990.

New York, New York(en)

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

Angélique Kidjo aux Concerts Volants(fr)

Ici Nougaro ! Le concert évènement(fr)

Twenty years after Claude Nougaro's death, numerous artists came together to participate in a grand tribute concert in Toulouse, the city he sang about so beautifully. Under the direction of Yvan Cujious and Yvan Cassar, conducting the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, this event brought together Bénabar, Nolwenn Leroy, BigFlo et Oli, Cali, Ben l'oncle Soul, Jean-Pierre Mader, Anne Sila, Natalie Dessay, Cats on Trees, and others, in front of thousands of nostalgic spectators. Recorded on September 8, 2024, at the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, Occitanie.

'Round Midnight(en)

Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.

Space Is the Place(en)

Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.

Nalen(sv)

Documentary about legendary Swedish jazz club "Nalen" featuring interviews with old musicians and singers, and old clips from the place in its glory days

Rockers(en)

Horsemouth, a drummer living in a ghetto of Kingston, plans to make money selling records. After his prized motorcycle is stolen, his plans fall through and he's forced to adapt.

Der Pastor mit der Jazztrompete(de)

When the Lutheran pastor Roland retires, the young priest Roll shall replace him. He plays the trumpet, loves Jazz and his methods are unconventional: From the first day on he offends the village's notables, but he doesn't care so much since he especially targets the youths, wants them to get back to the church again. However the mayor agitates against him, manages to endanger Roll's success. The conflict leads to vandalism and open violence against Roll.

Good Stock On The Dimension Floor: An Opera(en)

A collectively made filmic opera in 35 parts. The Black and predominantly queer art collective, an evolving line up of poets and artists from across the world, abstracts and reimagines opera in any traditional conception. Set to hip-hop, blues, noise, R&B and electronica, the piece uses the voice (chanting, singing, screaming; written by poet and activist Dawn Lundy Martin) as its primary tool, verbalising centuries of alienation, vulnerability and protest in the global African diaspora through its disruptive libretto.

You, the Living(sv)

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

The Harder They Come(en)

Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.

The Avett Brothers at Red Rocks(en)

On July 7, 2019, they celebrated their sixth consecutive year of sold-out concerts at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, the world’s only naturally-occurring, acoustically perfect amphitheater, located just outside of Denver. Over 9,000 fans danced, sang and cheered — it was the perfect way to spend a warm summer evening. This special features performances of “Live and Die,” “Down with the Shine,” “Head Full of Doubt,” “High Steppin,'” “Ain’t No Man,” “Laundry Room” and more.

Jazzimation(xx)

A jazzy film in which the spectator is forced to look with the ears and listen with the eyes. An abstract film drawn directly on the computer.

Cerddwn Ymlaen(cy)

The highlights of the 20th Anniversary Concert celebrating the partnership between Wales' best -known political folk singer and the first international ambassadors of Welsh folk music, held at Machynlleth, Wales in October 2002.

The Wrecking Crew(en)

A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.

Ghosts(en)

In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.

The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story(en)

A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.

Neil Young: Heart of Gold(en)

In March 2005, Neil Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Four days before he was scheduled for a lifesaving operation, he headed to Nashville, where he wrote and recorded the country folk album Prairie Wind with old friends and family members. After the successful operation and recovery period, he returned to Nashville that August to play at the famed Ryman Auditorium, once again gathering together friends and family for this special performance.

Too Late Blues(en)

Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.

Let It Shine(en)

A young teenage rapper must use his musical talent to help his friend out and win the girl of his dreams by going through several events of betrayal, trust and agreement while his religious parents have strictly dislike his interests.

Silk Stockings(en)

After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris, the beautiful, ultra-serious Ninotchka is sent to complete their mission and to retrieve them. She starts out condemning the decadent West, but gradually falls under its spell—with the help of an American movie producer. A remake of Ninotchka (1939).

Anima(en)

In a short musical film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead stars in a mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.

Daft Punk Unchained(en)

Daft Punk Unchained is the first film about the pop culture phenomenon that is Daft Punk, the duo with 12 million albums sold worldwide and seven Grammy Awards. Throughout their career Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have always resisted compromise and the established codes of show business. They have remained determined to maintain control of every link in the chain of their creative process. In the era of globalisation and social networks, they rarely speak in public and neither do they show their faces on TV. This documentary explores this unprecedented cultural revolution revealing a duo of artists on a permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom.

Brigadoon(en)

Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.

Shawn Mendes: Live in Concert(en)

In his hometown of Toronto, Shawn Mendes pours his heart out on stage with a live performance in a stadium packed with adoring fans.

End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones(en)

A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.

The Jazz Singer(en)

A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer.

Tom Thumb(en)

A boy, no bigger than a thumb, manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.

Footlight Parade(en)

A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.

Love Me or Leave Me(en)

A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.

Roustabout(en)

After a singer loses his job at a coffee shop, he finds employment at a struggling carnival, but his attempted romance with a teenager leads to friction with her father.

Lemmy(en)

Over four decades, Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has registered an immeasurable impact on music history. Nearly 65, he remains the living embodiment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and this feature-length documentary tells his story, one of a hard-living rock icon who continues to enjoy the life of a man half his age.

Sneakerella(en)

When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.

Let It Be(en)

A documentary chronicling the Beatles' rehearsal sessions in January 1969 for their proposed "back to basics" album, "Get Back," later re-envisioned and released as "Let It Be."