Growing up in the South, you’d read in fanzines about what bands were doing in the D.C. area. Later you’d scour the local indie entertainment rag for the hopes that these bands would hope in their vans and play a basement club in your town. Whether your parents would let you see them is a different story. Those glory days are brought back in Punk the Capital: Building of a Sound Movement which delves into D.C. scene. The documentary is going to be playing theaters and virtual cinemas in May before arriving on home video in June for National Record Store Day. Here’s the press release from the filmmakers:
| IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement A documentary tracing the birth of punk rock in Washington D.C. (1976-1983) Featuring Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Void, Rites of Spring, and more, with interviews from Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, H.R., Jello Biafra, Joe Keithley, and many others Premiering exclusively in Theaters and on Virtual Cinema nationwide beginning May 14th DVD / Blu-ray to be released for National Record Store Day on June 8th via Passion River When punk rock erupted in Washington DC, it was a mighty convergence of powerful music, friendships, and clear minds. This film is the first to explore the incredible challenges that this subculture faced when it took root in the Nation’s Capital in the late 1970’s. Punk the Capital situates DC punk within the larger narratives of rock n’ roll, working as a powerful multi-layered story for both fans and non-fans of punk rock. Featuring musicians such as Bad Brains, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, and Jello Biafra, this film dives deep into the ideas and sounds from this transformative music scene which continues to be influential culturally and politically around the world. Created by James June Schneider (Co-Director, Editor), Paul Bishow (Co-Director), and Sam Lavine (Associate Producer, Co-Editor), Punk the Capital is Punk the Capital has been on the road since its World Premiere weekend in Washington D.C. held simultaneously at the American Film Institute and the Hirshhorn Museum (Sound Scene festival). The filmmakers took the film around the USA and Europe to festivals, cinematheques, cinemas, galleries and community spaces. It has been selected for festivals including In-Edit (Barcelona and Brazil) BAFICI, Leeds International Film Festival, and Sound Unseen. Each screening has been an event, with at least one of the filmmakers present and for the majority of dates, there has been a special guest (Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, Cynthia Connolly, HR of Bad Brains and many others.) The goal of the team was to reach 100 consecutive in-person events. They made it to 50 before the pandemic began.   Schneider states: “We were touring the film like a band would until the pandemic hit. Now as things open back up, we’re glad to kick off the theatrical release for a variety of reasons. Some of the cinemas where Punk the Capital will be showing, I screened my films back in 1997 when filmmaker Martha Colburn and I hit the road together. I’ve been thinking about them as we piece this together. Before we release the film on DVD/Blu-ray we wanted to undertake a big push with a theatrical release, part virtual, part in person, that I hope will do its part in getting some of these struggling indie cinemas some much-needed support. And we also are looking forward to sharing the film in these times since it’s an optimistic film essentially about building something new and constructive despite the odds. The final version of our film that we’re releasing now is just the intense tip of the iceberg – our first cut was 7 hours long. In the end, we wound up focusing on the untold and improbable story of punk rock’s beginnings in Washington DC, that happened concurrently with cities across the western world. We took a lot of our extra material that otherwise might never have been seen and edited it together to make short films that will be in the bonus section on the DVD (and Blu-ray). One of the shorts focuses on the band Scream and their family connections to DC’s 1960’s legendary garage band scene. As we roll the film out, we’ve been blown away by the positive response not just from fans of punk and DC punk who see and hear a lot of unseen material. We’ve also heard from a lot of people even up to 90 years old who don’t really like punk but who nonetheless love the film. We’re glad to see that Punk the Capital works on a lot of levels and are hoping that it will reach a broad audience since the DIY ideas highlighted in the film about the DC punk scene go well beyond the music.” Website: www.punkthecapital.info  THEATER / VIRTUAL SCREENINGS5/13 – OPENING NIGHT – Cinelounge Drive-In Hollywood – Los Angeles, CAPete Stahl (Scream) Q&A co-presented with curator/publisher Roger GastmanShort film about Scream and their connection with the 1960’s garage band The Hangmen created by Punk the Capital will play ahead of the screening 5/14 – Cinelounge Hollywood – Los Angeles, CAHudley Flipside (of Flipside fanzine fame) presentation and Q&A 5/14 – New Plaza Screening Series (former Lincoln Plaza Cinema) – New York, NY 5/14 – Acme Theater – Lambertville, PA 5/14 – Texas Theater – Dallas, TX 5/14 – Brattle Theater – Cambridge, MA 5/14 – International Film Series – Boulder, CO 5/14 – Hollywood Theater – Portland, OR 5/14 – The Guild Cinema – Albuquerque, NM 5/14 – Countryfest Community Cinema – Dauphin, MB 5/14 – Screenland Armour Theater – Kansas City, MO 5/14 – 6/25 – Rosendale Theater – Rosendale, NY 5/14 – 6/25 – The Colonial Performing Arts Center – Keene, NH 5/14 – Amherst Cinema – Amherst, MA 5/14 – Metro Cinema – Edmonton, AB 5/23 – The Roxie Cinema – San Francisco, CAQ&A with Chris Stover (Void), Nicky Thomas (Fire Party), Lydia Ely (early DC scene) 5/14 – Screenland Armour Theater – Kansas City, MO 5/14 – Gateway – Columbus, OH 5/14 – The Music Box – Chicago, IL 5/14 – Suns Cinema – Washington, DC 5/14 – Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema – Tahoe City, CA 5/14 – Scarecrow Video Virtual Screenings – Seattle, WA 5/14 – Time & Space Museum – Hudson, NY 5/14 – Sunray Cinema – Jacksonville, FL 5/14 – Zeitgeist Theater – New Orleans, LA 5/14 – The Miracle Theatre – Washington, DC 5/21 – Parkway Theater – Pittsburgh, PA 5/14 – 6/3 – Olympia Film Society at The Capitol Theater – Olympia, WA 5/14 – Cinemapolis – Ithaca, NY 5/14 – The Nightlight Cinema – Akron, OH TBD – Bel Aire Drive-In – Brooklyn, NY TBD – Winnipeg Cinematheque – Winnipeg, MB + MORE TBA ABOUT:JAMES JUNE SCHNEIDER — CO-DIRECTOR, CO-EDITOR James was born in Washington DC and was raised in the city’s mid-eighties punk and skate scenes. He has been making films since 1992, and beginning in 2001, video performing and projecting on city walls and buildings. His award-winning work has been screened at film festivals, museums, and spaces of all kinds around the world. Schneider’s filmography includes Blue is Beautiful with Dischord recording artists The Make-Up (1997) and the science-fiction feature The End of the Light Age (2007) starring Lou Castel. More recently, he directed The Band that Met the Sound Beneath (2012) with the Chilean punk band Panico and Young Oceans of Cinema, a portrait of France’s “ultimate outsider” filmmaker, Jean Epstein, which premiered at the 2012 edition of the Rotterdam International Film Festival. For more info, go to http://info.jamesjune.info/. PAUL BISHOW — CO-DIRECTOR Paul moved to Washington DC in the mid-70s. He has since made dozens of films, both feature length and short subject, mostly in Super-8 format. They range from the film essay Anarchy and Chaos Prelude, DC to Bad Brains(1979) to the feature fiction film It’s a Wonderful Horrible Life (2001). Many DC punk bands have appeared in his films as well as their members, separately, who at times play roles in the more ‘fictional’ of his works. Footage from his films has appeared in many a documentary including Don Lett’s Punk Attitude and Mandy Stein’s Bad Brains, Band in DC (2012). Paul was also a founding member of the I am Eye Film Forum which graced DC with an underground film series from 1982-1997. SAM LAVINE — ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, CO-EDITOR Sam is from Washington, D.C. In the early 2000’s he joined the tYPE1 circle, a collective that performed in different configurations, including the Cornel West theory. In addition to playing drums, he soon after began making music videos for the group as well, which solidified an interest in documenting the music around him. Sam joined the Punk the Capital team in 2013, initially as co-editor and then as associate producer as the project progressed. Sam currently plays drums in Light Beams and works at Dischord Records. http://samlavine.tumblr.com/  |
