Presented by Sound Unseen // MN PREMIERE
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
6:30 pm Doors // 7:30 pm Screening
$12 Advance // $14 At the door
A touchstone in the lives of millions of young people, as well as a home for musicians and filmmakers to display their frequently offbeat sense of artistic vision, upstart music network MTV burst onto televisions on August 1, 1981. Via a combination of the scrappy handful of young adults serving as hosts, the fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants production style, and the music mini-movies that were the foundation of the original channel, MTV was like nothing Americans had ever seen before.
A nostalgic and thrilling ride, "I Want My MTV" takes its audience back to the beginning, when the idea of a television channel devoted solely to screening newfangled videos from music’s hottest stars seemed destined for failure. From DEVO and Cyndi Lauper to David Bowie and Madonna, the film provides a peek into how the videos that defined a generation, as well as how the team of young executives—now some of the most prolific and powerful leaders in American media—tasked with growing this seed of an idea, would quickly flourish into a beloved but often controversial cultural juggernaut. Features commentary from Sting, Tegan and Sara, Fab 5 Freddy, Jerry Cantrell, Tabitha Soren, and more. - Tribeca Film Festival
(2019, United States, DCP, 86min) dir. Tyler Meason, Patrick Waldrop
Preceded by: Lost Weekend. In 1984, two friends from small-town Pennsylvania win an MTV contest and the chance to party with Van Halen for 48 Hours.
(2019, United States, DCP, 14min, dir. Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb)
Sound Unseen is a cultural organization dedicated to the role of film and music as a conduit of powerful ideas and diverse viewpoints. Our mission is to foster a greater appreciation of cinema, to bridge cultures, create and expand community, provide cultural exchange, networking opportunities and educational outreach through regular interaction with great films, filmmakers, musicians and artists.