Fans of rock and roll, movies, and especially rock and roll movies rejoiced earlier this year when the American Cinematheque announced it was hosting the return of “Don’t Knock the Rock,” the music-themed film festival founded by writer-director Allison Anders and her daughter, music supervisor Tiffany Anders, back in 2003. After an eight-year hiatus, the festival returns May 23 with one of its strongest lineups yet, coupled with a virtual component that allows filmgoers outside of Los Angeles to participate. In a roundabout way, the festival’s resurgence owes its existence to the recently departed Roger Corman — as does Allison’s now classic early feature “Gas Food Lodging.”
“Had Roger Corman never existed, neither would ‘Gas Food Lodging,’” Allison told IndieWire. That’s because the movie was backed by Cineville, a company whose executives Carl Colpaert, Dan Hassid, and Bill Ewart got their start — like so many filmmakers from Martin Scorsese and Francis Coppola to Jack Nicholson and Joe Dante — working for Corman. Cineville produced “Gas Food Lodging” and another early Allison Anders gem, “Mi Vida Loca,” and over 30 years later, the company has helped facilitate the resurrection of “Don’t Knock the Rock.” “All these years later, Carl started a Cineville streaming platform. He’s got a lot of independent films and films from Cannes and Venice that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day.”
When Colpaert reached out to Allison about curating an edition of “Don’t Knock the Rock” online for Cineville, it inspired her and Tiffany to revive the live version as well. “We had always been interested in doing a streaming version of the festival but didn’t know how to go about it,” Allison said. Once Colpaert provided a platform via Cineville, Tiffany suggested they bring back the live component, and the programmers found an ideal partner in the American Cinematheque, who will screen an eclectic array of films May 23–27 while the virtual slate of over 30 movies streams on Cineville May 23-July 31 for a flat $10 fee. While both the live and streaming editions are filled with terrific programming, Allison and Tiffany have a few essential recommendations they say shouldn’t be missed.
At the top of Tiffany’s list is “This Is the Life,” a 2008 documentary by Ava DuVernay that chronicles a little-known movement in ’90s hip-hop in which DuVernay herself participated. “It’s a really great portrait of ’90s L.A. and Compton that’s completely different from what you’re used to hearing about,” Tiffany told IndieWire. Instead of focusing on gangsta rap, the film captures an alternative hip-hop culture that originated in a health food store’s open mic nights. “It was run by this old lady, and she had two rules,” Allison said. “You could not swear, and you could not bring in drugs or alcohol. But under those restrictions, all this vibrancy happened. And Ava’s documentary shows the early stages of this art movement and how diverse it was.”
Tiffany and Allison are also quick to recommend “Jerry Lee Lewis – Trouble in Mind,” a portrait of the complex, controversial, and essential rock ‘n’ roll icon that’s comprised entirely of archival material. “That has a lot of fantastic footage that I had never seen before,” Allison said, adding that the Cinematheque screening offers a rare chance to see the documentary on the big screen. Several of Lewis’ peers — like Little Richard and Bill Haley and the Comets — appear in one of the fest’s essential retrospective presentations, a 35mm screening of “Don’t Knock the Rock,” the 1956 musical that gave the festival its name. Other retrospectives that Tiffany and Allison recommend include a pair of movies directed by Susan Seidelman (“Smithereens” and “Desperately Seeking Susan”) and the 1983 rock comedy “Get Crazy,” directed by Allan Arkush — another graduate of the “Roger Corman film school,” and a filmmaker who will be participating in a Q&A following his film.
The Seidelman and DuVernay films are part of a Saturday program devoted to female directors, which will culminate in a rare theatrical screening of Juleen Compton’s 1966 film “The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean.” An Ozark-set tale of the compromises required of a woman looking for a future in rock, Allison says it’s worth checking out for the power and specificity of Compton’s vision as well as for an early glimpse it gives of a future film and television celebrity. “It’s the very first time Sam Waterston ever appeared on screen, as a drummer in a rock band,” Allison said. “What’s fascinating about the film is it almost has an element of sci-fi to it, even though it’s not really sci-fi. It’s black and white, and very beautiful and atmospheric.”
On the virtual side, Tiffany points out that many of the films being screened have had little if any streaming presence, which makes the appearance of films like “Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback” so welcome. “The Monks documentary, which we showed back in 2006, is such a crazy story and there’s amazing footage of them,” Tiffany said of the film about a vital German-American beat band of the 1960s. It’s one of several entries from past festivals getting a new life on Cineville’s platform. “I’m really trying to shine a light on some films that have been lost. What’s cool about this is not only getting the chance to show some things that people likely missed, but to have it all in one place with Q&As and panel discussions and master classes.” Allison hopes the partnerships with the Cinematheque and Cineville will be the beginning of a new era for the festival. “We’re trying to make it like a little movie club you join for a couple of months, and then see what we have next year,” she said, noting that for the 2025 incarnation, she and Tiffany will be on the lookout for some L.A. premieres to present, staying within their mandate to look beyond the beaten path. “We’ve learned over the years that our audiences care about these artists,” Allison said, “in some ways, the more obscure the better!”
“Don’t Knock the Rock” will screen at the American Cinematheque from May 23-27 and stream on Cineville from May 23-July 31.
