There is something very British about the dance music revolution. For it was a revolution and as the Prodigy ‘Their Law’ stated, it was an US (the young and free partying) and THEM (the grizzled and oft annoyed). I came into the Rave seen a few years after WEEKENDER came out. It was legend in some respects. Banning does that. It leads to infamy. This had already preceded it due to a Daily Star moral panic campaign. It documented acid house, drugs, fun, the weekend in London and was feared for it. Now some thirty years later, this opus can be seen as a time capsule. Capturing the flowering (not Flowered Up!) scene where drugs and dancing were fun and familiar. Not the end of the world Sodom and Gomorrah of the tabloids.

Now all of that, it stinks of silliness. Fear of beats, fear of fun and a sense of the fear of the rebellion behind it. We have seen it with the Teddy boys, Bikers, Punks and even the New Romantics before. This is why Wiz film is ostensibly a historical document and starts as a music video. Spiralling into a dream state that was the party scene for many years. WEEKENDER is also much more. It explores a night out in all its chewy, drug mozaic detail. From the wait for that Friday clock to tick to done and then often the payday pint. To the first hit of little weed and then onto the hard drugs. The feel of a beat on the skin and on the foot. Sweat, dead end jobs, dance, dead end life, kick drum, feel alive. It is intoxicating and alive. It is also hard to grasp now for many.

Why? Because it doesn’t have the range to deliver as it did then. The copious extras underline the temporal nature of the work but also the mindset. They stamp the film with an expiry date. Its art but its art that is like a fine wine. Of its time and tide. If you were not there, its alien. Like me seeing the 1950s and understanding any of its myriad ways. It seems a time of loss and giving up on todays obsession with make more money and to hell the ideas of community. There are some that are growing back into that. Thankfully younger people (who sadly will become the future conservatives) who day to day, will be able to mine it. I AM WEEKENDER by Chloé Raunet, is a explorative documentary that focuses on not only the film’s making, but discussing its snap shot legacy and potency. There are loads of talking heads. Irvine Welsh,  Lynne Ramsay, Bobby Gillespie, Róisín Murphy, Annie Nightingale, Shaun Ryder and David Holmes. It holds the film up and honestly explains the details in a way. There are bits missed. Not much on pirate radio stations (I worked on one for about 3 years). No discussion on the splintering of the scene. No discussion on the way we often had to mix free parties and big events due to cost and the nastiness of club scene politics.

• Weekender (1992, 19 mins): the film itself, remastered from the original camera negative and presented in a new 2K restoration
• New audio commentary by director WIZ, recorded and produced by Adam Dunlop
• Take It (1991, 4 mins): Flowered Up promotional video directed by WIZ
• Phobia (1990, 4 mins): Flowered Up promotional video directed by Paul Cannell
• It’s On (1990, 4 mins): Flowered Up promotional video directed by Pinko
• Raise (1990, 4 mins): Bocca Juniors promotional video directed by WIZ and featuring Anna Haigh
• Nish (1989, 4 mins): a short film about early acid house culture by WIZ
• Turn It Up (2023, 27 mins): Chloé Raunet discusses the making of her documentary in this newly recorded interview
• Rushes Revisited (Adam Dunlop, 2023, 9 mins): four sketches made from unseen rushes featuring previously unheard isolated tracks from the original recordings
• Image gallery
• Limited to 2,000 copies, including slipcase, postcard and a 36-page booklet featuring new essays by Miranda Sawyer, Adelle Stripe, Des Penney and WIZ