Look for films on musical themes this year

Seven music-related films will screen from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2, at this year’s Calgary International Film Festival.

It’s the first wave of announcements from the festival. Most of the films are part of the festival’s annual Music on Screen series.

Films include documentaries about 1980s electronic artist Gary Numan and iconic blues musicians, and a comedy-drama featuring Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong in his first starring role.

The series will include a special screening of the documentary The American Epic Sessions on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the newly opened National Music Centre. The film follows a group of musicians, led by Jack White and including Elton John, Willie Nelson and Los Lobos, as they record old songs using equipment from the 1920s.

Other music documentaries announced include Gary Numan: Android in La La Land, a documentary about the enigmatic singersongwriter and his experiences with anxiety and Asperger’s and comeback; Hired Gun, about the musicians who backup stars such as Metallica, Kiss and Billy Joel; Sidemen: Long Road to Glory, which examines the lives of veteran blues players Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Willie (Big Eyes) Smith; Sonita, about politically minded Afghan rapper Sonita Alizadeh; and Stronger Than Bullets, which follows the plight of defiant musicians during the Arab Spring.

The festival also announced the narrative film, Geezer, which stars Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong as a former punk rocker who throws himself a 40th birthday party, after his family forgets about it.

Visit calgaryfilm.com for more information.