Christie Pits film festival
sunday, july 31, 2022

almost famous

With the short film Turning Tables

American indie filmmaker Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical love letter to rock & roll, Almost Famous follows teenage prodigy William Miller, an aspiring writer with a strict mother and big dreams. A chance opportunity to write for Rolling Stone takes him on the road with fictitious rock band Stillwater one summer as they rise to stardom. He quickly finds a friend in Penny Lane, a self proclaimed “band-aid,” who takes him under her wing as he gets swept up in all the highs and lows of backstage life on tour. A nostalgic millennial favourite more than 20 years after its release, this coming of age story about the magic of youthful optimism, reckless rock star abandon, and the true joy that exists in the journey, not the destination.

In Turning Tables, Toronto filmmaker Chrisann Hessing traces Anishinaabe DJ and producer Joshua DePerry’s vibrant and inspiring journey towards musical stardom. Originally from Long Lake 58 First Nation, where he is known as “Fancy Dancer” and still shares his love of music and dance with the local youth, DePerry combining traditional Indigenous sounds with modern techno beats in a sound and style distinctly his own. Hessing’s film bridges the gap between DePerry’s Toronto late-night club life and his ancestral roots on the reservation at a pivotal moment as he assumes the new stage name “Classic Roots” and prepares for a possible star-making relocation to Berlin, the world’s techno hub. Is it better to burn out, or fade away? Tonight’s films both search for new answers to this eternal question.