The Powerful & Groundbreaking Music Flicks You Need To See At Adelaide Film Festival

The Go-Go’s

Totally unmanufactured, The Go-Go’s burst out of the LA punk scene day to become the most successful female bands of all time, a mantle they hold to this day, and which without this documentary would continue to go unheralded. The Go-Go's first album topped the American Billboard for six weeks, and four of their singles reached the Top 20. Full of fabulous archival footage and candid testimonies, this energetic documentary explores their meteoric rise, the ruthlessness of the male-dominated music industry, and their own ruthlessness and internal battles, as they take the necessary steps to become kick-ass successful. 

16 Oct, 9:00pm @ Palace Nova Eastend 

17 Oct, 8:00pm @ Odeon Star Semaphore Cinemas 

23 Oct, 9:20pm @ Palace Nova Eastend 

I Am Woman

Like The Go-Go's, Helen Reddy is another star whose staggering success had all but faded from the annals of history. This biopic, like The Go-Go's doco, are timely reminders of what major forces these 1970s women were in music. Coming from a family of old-time Australian entertainers, Reddy began performing at four, however, this likeable biopic focusses on the Australian singer’s (played by the charming Tilda Hervey-Cobham) arrival in New York in the 1960s, her friendship with the celebrated Australian rock journalist Lillian Roxon, and how her lack of early success in the male-dominated music industry saw her pen I Am Woman, a timely anthem which catapulted her to worldwide success. She went onto release a number of hits, many ‘story’ songs about women. (Angie Baby, Delta Dawn, Leave Me Alone [Ruby Red Lips]). 

18 Oct, 5:00pm @ Palace Nova Prospect 

18 Oct, 5:30pm @ Palace Nova Prospect 

23 Oct, 4:30pm @ Palace Nova Eastend 

How To Build A Girl

Another way the music industry has always been male-dominated is in rock journalism. An entertaining coming of age film set in the UK 1990s music scene, we follow the uncool but sweet Johanna (charmingly portrayed by Beanie Felderstein, Lady Bird, Booksmart), who after being dismissed as just a fangirl, reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde, the queen of snide reviews to rise in the ranks of D&ME, the UK’s premier music rag. The soundtrack includes music from Happy Mondays, Bikini Kill, Jeff Buckley, Denis Leary and Primal Scream.

20 Oct, 7:15pm @ Palace Nova Eastend 

24 Oct, 5:00pm @ Palace Nova Eastend

White Riot

At this historic moment of Black Lives Matters, it's timely to take a look at other uprisings against racism, and the role of played by music. Long before FB and Insta, social protests became viral through grass-root mechanisms; for the Rock Against Racism movement, it was through music fanzines and punk and reggae gigs. This spirited and well-researched documentary traces how a group of white and black music-loving activists and musicians led the uprising against the youth recruiting National Front, exposing the white face of racism. From small beginnings, its great moment was a huge anti-fascist carnival in Victoria Park, featuring The Clash, X-Ray Spex and Steel Pulse.

17 Oct, 8:40pm @ Palace Nova Prospect 

21 Oct, 5:15pm @ Palace Nova Eastend 

24 Oct, 7:30pm @ Odeon Star Semaphore Cinemas

Kill It And Leave This Town

Inspiring placement of music from the Polish rock band Breakout, written by the late jazz composer Tadeusz Nalepa, brighten with gorgeous whimsy the dark despair driving this extraordinary animation, full of dystopian images, and fuelled by male melancholy and rage. Though the soundtrack is a good enough reason to see this film, the real reason is its growing reputation as setting a new standard of what is possible in animation. 

18 Oct, 4:00pm @ Palace Nova Eastend 

22 Oct, 9:30 PM @ Palace Nova Eastend 

For more details on Adelaide Film Festival 2020, click here.