Event

Family Jams

(Kevin Barker, USA, 2009, DigiBeta, 81 min) The freak-folk explosion of the mid-00s was a musical trend that demanded documentation. There was the rare sensation of a group of major artists emerging at the same time, hanging out and collaborating with one another, not minding if their styles overlapped. Furthermore, the whole thing was as photogenic as it gets, with pretty people frolicking outside, staring thoughtfully through tour van windows for hours on end, smoking pipes and lighting candles. The Family Jams, a new documentary by Currituck Co. frontman Kevin Barker, might be the defining film of that moment. Three San Francisco-based musical acts - Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and Vetiver - tour the country performing their genre-defining music, dubbed "freak folk" by the press. They help each other overcome family tragedies and car accidents, and meet colorful characters, forgotten musical heroes and folk luminaries along the way. The film features performances by Antony and the Johnsons, Espers, Meg Baird and The Pleased.