Sound Unseen film festival debuts in Rochester

John Molseed, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Updated ·3 min read

Nov. 13—ROCHESTER — The Sound Unseen film festival is moving into Rochester in 2023.

For 23 years, the annual film festival has offered lineups of music-oriented films and live performances for music fans in the Twin Cities. Now Rochester music fans will

be able to see a selection of films closer to home at Pop's Art Theater.

One of the films offers an up-close profile of a Minnesota musician by way of France. "Meeting Charlie Parr," a 2013 film directed by François-xavier Dubois and Charles Dubois, is a compilation of moments spent with Parr on the road, at shows, at his home and in his daily life.

Rich Gill, festival program director, who is organizing the Rochester leg of the festival, said Parr's international appeal speaks volumes of his musicianship and authenticity.

"He's not on a major label, he doesn't have a ton of commercial success," Gill said. "He's such a lively, great artist he transcends all of that."

Another film in the lineup with a Minnesota connection is "Finding Her Beat," a documentary directed by Dawn Mikkelson and Keri Pickett focused on a group of Taiko drummers. For centuries, women have been locked out of the Japanese performance art form. The film profiles a group of women Taiko artists and their efforts to bring players together to create HERbeat, a historic Taiko winter performance in Minneapolis.

Other festival films on the lineup include, "Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection." The film profiles talented pop star Karen Carpenter and explores her struggles with anorexia, which led to her death at age 32 in 1983.

A 45th anniversary screening of "Skateboard" which profiles skaters at the height of the 1970s skateboarding craze; "Louder than you think: A lo-fi history of Gary Young and Pavement" and "We Are Fugazi from Washington, D.C." round out the rest of the festival schedule.

Gill said he credits Pop's Art Theater owners Nate Nelson and Maggie Panetta for giving the screenings a home and continuing to grow a following for independent films.

"They're bringing in films to people who might not have a chance to see them otherwise," Gill said.

Gill is no small part of the effort either. He has been working with the festival for years along with festival director Jim Brunzell III, festival producer Kat Swenson and others to grow the festival in Minneapolis and into Austin, Texas.

Gill, a Rochester native, left the city in 2003. He helped run the Uptown Theatre in Minneapolis. Gill returned to Rochester in 2022 and found fast friends and opportunities to grow the independent movie scene with Nelson and Panetta. Pop's and other arts and culture spaces have grown since he left 20 years ago, he said.

"It just goes to show that the city is open and hungry for new types of entertainment," he said.

When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov 17.

When: 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov 18.

When: 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov 18.

When: 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov 18.

When: 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov 19.

When: 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov 19.

Where: All films will be screened at Pop's Art Theater, 619 Sixth Ave. NW.