Filmmaker Jem Cohen will be at the Texas Theater this weekend for a screening of his 1999 Fugazi documentary musical instrument And 2012 drama Museum opening hours.
“Jem Cohen is one of my favorite filmmakers,” said Jason Reimer, founding partner of Aviation Cinemas and co-founder of Talented Friends, the creative production company that screens Cohen's films. talk. “For a musician like me who became a film director, that inspiration was primarily Jem Cohen. I've wanted Jem to come to the theater for a long time.”
Cohen was originally scheduled to come to the Texas theater in 2020, but the pandemic put those plans on hold indefinitely. “I'm just bringing something back from the dead,” Cohen says. This delay means the 2024 screening will be postponed. musical instrumentis a documentary that follows the iconic post-hardcore band Fugazi, filmed over a period of 10 years and coinciding with the film's 25th anniversary.
Looking back on those days, Cohen says he remains proud. musical instrument. “It's holding up very well,” he says. “I think I'm still surprised. I think it was pretty bold, especially the composition, the editing. And we didn't have high expectations when we made it. I don't think Fugazi fans were that interested. We had no idea if they were even going to have it. So we wrote this song primarily as a record of what the band was going through together and what I was going through with them. It felt like we created it for ourselves.”
Complement musical instrument It will be screened in 2012 Museum opening hours. Cohen said of the film, “…It's basically a fiction film, but I think all my films are what you might call a 'hybrid', combining elements of documentary and narrative. Museum opening hours That's exactly right. So it's kind of an essay film about why art is important, and it's also the story of this security guard and a visiting woman from Canada, played by the wonderful Mary Margaret O'Hara. ”
On the surface, an independent drama film centered around a Vienna museum might seem like the antithesis of a decade-long documentary about an influential anti-consumerist punk band; Cohen sees things differently.
“Well, it may seem that way from a distance, but Museum opening hours and musical instrument They're very different animals, but I'm very happy with the idea of them being shown in Texas theaters on the same weekend. Because for me, it's all one piece of work,” he says. “All of my work has certain similarities, both in terms of the way I do the crazy, outside-of-industry work that I usually do, and in terms of what interests me in the world.”
Cohen also sees similarities in the way the two films were shot. “like musical instrument, [Museum Hours] I was built over a long period of time, taking on many of the roles often taken on by larger staff. Sometimes there was a crew, [then] There were maybe four or five people, not 20, 30, 100 people like you would find on a standard movie set. ”
Cohen goes on to say, “…there's a, for lack of a better word, 'do it yourself' mentality in every film project. It's what makes them possible, but it also makes them a kind of rebel.” He attributes this to the influence punk music had on him in high school, which made him realize that there was a way to work outside of the standard industry model. I learned.'' And if you put in a lot of effort, you will create your own factory or otherwise become a factory. ”
As planned, Cohen will make the most of his trip to Texas. In addition to sharing and discussing his work with the Texas Theater audience, he also plans to film footage during Monday's solar eclipse.
“In my daily life, I am constantly filming and collecting audio,” Cohen says. “For me, filmmaking is kind of a routine part of my life, rather than having a very set production period where I write a script and then basically draw that script. So…for better or worse… It can also be very frustrating, leading to overlapping projects and in some cases…taking 10 or 20 years to complete.”
It's an approach that gives the Coen's films their unique texture. “You can experience and bring to the screen a long experience and record of the changing landscape of the world, and it becomes a very organic process that is really inseparable from just living.”
By my count, Cohen has made about 70 films, about seven of which are full-length features. Some of these are available to watch on major streaming outlets, and Cohen also manages his PPV Vimeo, where viewers can support his work.
“I love bringing my work to an audience and talking about it,” says Cohen. His hope is that audiences will be open to new experiences when engaging with his films. “I think people who think they're just interested in music or punk or Fugazi should take a chance.” Museum opening hours…and if you're thinking… you don't like loud, crazy movies about punk bands, give this movie a try. musical instrument And mix it. ”
Museum opening hours It will be shown at the Texas Theater on Saturday, April 6th at 4pm. musical instrument Screening is Sunday, April 7th at 5pm. Both screenings will include his Q&A with Cohen. musical instrument Also includes pre-recorded interviews with members of Fugazi.poster art prints musical instrumentDesigns by artist Jay Ryan will also be available for purchase.
tickets are available here.
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