Wednesday 4th July
@ The Troxy – London
The founders of the Secret Cinema, Future Cinema, continue their march on the world domination of cinematic events with the launch of another series of film related events on Wednesday night. This new series, known as Secret Screenings is being run in association with formidable party organisers All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP).
The premise is similar to Secret Cinema – you buy a ticket not knowing what film you will be seeing. The difference with this new series being that these are one-off events and will be combined more with a live show/music. Scheduled to run once every month at the newly refurbished Troxy in Commercial Road.
Of course, cryptic clues are emailed out to ticket holders to encourage you to dress in attire fitting for the film that you will be seeing but subtle enough not to give the game away. This is something these guys are particularly good at.
The requirements for this event were –
“Arrive in beachwear/summerwear, a USA or South African flag or bandana… and don’t forget to bring one secret record or Mix Tape to give to a stranger”
Around 1,000 people arrived at The Troxy about 7pm and walked into a small Record Fair, the rest of venue dressed as a South African stadium. Even at this point, most people were still unaware what the film would be. You can never really say 100% until the first credits roll.
The film was a real winner, the delightful new documentary movie ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ – although not currently on general release, it has been seen around the big film festivals over the last few months. Winning awards at both Sundance and Tribeca.
The film follows the story of Rodriguez. Discovered in Detroit in the late 60’s, Rodriguez is hailed as the finest recording artist of his generation who disappeared into oblivion only to return as an icon and music phenomenon. Two decades after he produced the albums “Cold Fact” and “Coming from Reality” his music and lyrics became a guiding light of inspiration to a generation of South African youth caught in the apartheid-era. In America he was completely unknown, selling just 6 records. It is an incredible story and very nicely put together in this documentary. Front Row Reviews will be posting a full review and follow up interviews of the film shortly.
The story itself is very touching, sad – yes but ultimately its a story of hope, inspiration and the power of music. The venue was great, the setup was very well done and generally it was a fantastic atmosphere to watch a film in.
As the end credits for the film rolled, people began to leave their seats and head to the bar for a beer and a chat about the film. Until…
The screen rolled back and a band came out onto stage – playing the famous Bass guitar and drum loop that heralded the start of Rodriguez’s comeback gig. The crowd were stunned but then began to realise that yes, that was actually the great man Rodriguez himself that had just stepped out onto stage!
At this point, the entire venue went absolutely crazy and rushed forwards towards the stage!! As you looked around, people had huge smiles and some even had tears in theirs eyes as he walked out onto stage.
It is very difficult to explain the vibe that was in the room at that point. It was simply magical. Rodriguez and his backing band played for around an hour to a crowd that had nothing but admiration and respect for him.
Photos courtesy of Laura Little.
People left the event completely blown away. After the emotional journey of the film – where for large parts, it was believed that Rodriguez had committed suicide on stage – to then be treated to a surprise like that was genius. What an incredible impact on the viewer. You can guarantee that everyone in that room will be back next month.
Searching for Sugar Man is Directed by Malik Bendjelloul and produced by Simon Chinn (Man on Wire) and will be released on July 27, 2012 by Studio Canal.
MORE INFO:
Secret Screenings – website
Secret Screenings – Twitter
Secret Screenings – Facebook
Troxy – website
