Screening of Music Documentary “Backyard”

Wed 28 Nov 2012, 8 pm
ATK

From the organizer:

We are very proud to present the official Vietnam premiere of BACKYARD – a music documentary about a bunch of Icelandic hips.., err, artists, having fun playing music in a backyard and on a roof!

BACKYARD – The Movie is a realisation and celebration of Reykjavík’s creative spirit. It is the embodiment of what happens when a group of friends works hard at implementing and executing an idea, and it is simply because they’re having fun! It is pure joy on celluloid, and you should join this party, which features performances by Múm, FM Belfast, Sin Fang, Hjaltalín, Retro Stefson, Borko & Reykjavík! Most of them are internationally known due to their releases on Morr Music and Kimi Records.

This is what happened: After he had successfully organized a concert (featuring eight bands in twelve hours), Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson (of FM Belfast fame) found himself pretty amazed by the energy and velocity of his local scene. He thought: “I should throw a party like this in my own backyard. So he invited all his friends and favourite local bands to play a show in his small backyard over the course of a couple of days. And he also invited filmmaker Árni Sveinsson who captured everything that happened with BACKYARD.

The bands don’t sound anything alike – they are all doing their own thing. What they share is a friendship, a mentality and approach that surpasses any superficial differences. This is not so much what you would call a ‘scene’. It’s a group of friends (who in their spare time play football or go swimming together): take Borko kicking off the movie with his lo-fi majesty against Hjaltalín‘s intricate baroque; múm‘s delicate patchwork against Reykjavík!‘s drunken artwork or FM Belfast‘s ungovernable will to party (which marks the finale grande here). It’s all there, and it works together because the shared idea is not a sound, but a feeling. This feeling is perfectly captured in Backyard.

The screening features a return performance from local favourite Phuong Dang, whose beautiful crooning Beth Gibbons-ish voice and baroque pop songs played on piano surely you will fall in love with. This is her first live appearance after a long hiatus due to becoming a mother. Not to be missed.

(BACKYARD’s introduction courtesy of icelandicmusicmaffia.blogspot.co.uk)

With a live performance from Phuong Dang

Language: Icelandic, with English subtitles

Entry: 50,000 VND (all proceeds go to support Phuong Dang)