Sound+Vision, Ballina’s annual film festival, returns this year celebrate music in film once again. Through a week-long programme of film screenings and other events, Sound+Vision this year celebrates the music of Generation X – the 1990s youth culture phenomenon. When American author Douglas Coupland published his debut novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture in 1991, he was inadvertently labelling the coming decade’s generation of alienated, disaffected young adults. His book sought to capture an ennui which became something of a zeitgeist for the period. This culture of the Generation X ‘slacker’ found a musical voice in the guise of grunge – a musical hybrid inspired by punk rock, heavy metal and indie rock, and characterised by contrasting song dynamics and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics.
Sound+Vision: Generation X kicks off in style on Monday next July 22 with Pearl Jam Twenty, director Cameron Crowe’s celebratory portrait of one of the most successful bands of the Seattle grunge scene.
The programme continues on Tuesday, July 23, with Reality Bites. This irreverent look at the harsh realities of life after college follows the misadventures of recent college graduate Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder ) as she makes a video about her circle of friends.
The most famous and iconic figure to come out of the entire grunge movement was undoubtedly Nirvana’s singer/songwriter/guitarist Kurt Cobain. And he is the inspiration for Gus van Sant’s Last Days, which will be screened on Wednesday, July 24.
On Thursday, July 25, fans of writer-director Kevin Smith’s irreverent outlook on life will be in for a treat when his debut effort Clerks, will be screened. Clerks follows a day in the life of two clerks, Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran ) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson ), as they are berated by an anti-smoking crusader; crash a funeral; indulge in a game of roof hockey; and discuss the merits of Return of the Jedi versus The Empire Strikes Back.
The programme will conclude on Friday, July 26 with another Cameron Crowe film, Singles. Made in 1992 and set amidst the burgeoning Seattle alternative music scene of the time, Singles follows a group of twenty-somethings as they try to find love and come to terms with their passage into adulthood.
Sound+Vision is presented in association with access>CINEMA and Ballina Arts Centre is gratefully acknowledges their support of this exciting film programme. All of the screenings start at 8pm and admission is €5. More information can be found at www.ballinaartscentre.co, or from Ballina Arts Centre, tel: 096 73593.
