Les Blank Retrospective
Co-Presented by The Austin Music Film Festival
Friday, Nov. 18 and Sunday, Nov. 20; 6 - 10 p.m.

On Friday, November 18, and Sunday, November 20, the Museum and the Austin Music Film Festival present the Les Blank Retrospective, a showcase of the films by the award-winning documentarian Les Blank. Both evenings begin with a live music performance, TBA. All screenings are presented in the beautiful Texas Spirit Theater at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Admission is $12 for one evening/ $20 for both evenings. Tickets at the door or advance tickets can be purchased by calling the Museum at (512) 936-4649.

Film Schedule for Friday, November 18

The Sun’s Gonna Shine (1969) 10 min
A lyrical recreation of Lightnin' Hopkins' decision at age eight to stop chopping cotton and start singing for a living.

The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins (1969) 31 min
Blank reveals Lightnin's inspiration and features a generous helping of classic blues. Includes performances at an outdoor barbeque and a black rodeo; and a visit to his boyhood town of Centerville, Texas. This powerful portrait is among Blank's special masterworks.

Mr. Charlie (1969) 8 min.
In this bonus footage from The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins, Lightnin' sings "Mr. Charlie, Your Rollin’ Mill is Burnin’ Down.“

Always For Pleasure (1978) 82 min
An intense insider's portrait of New Orleans' street celebrations and unique cultural gumbo: Second-line parades, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest. Features live music from Professor Longhair, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, the Neville Brothers and more.

Cigarette Blues (1985) 6 min
Born in Smithville, Texas, Oakland-based bluesman Sonny Rhodes sings "Cigarette Blues," a musical warning that compares cigarette smoking with playing with a loaded gun.

A Well Spent Life (1971) 44 min
Many people consider Texas bluesman Mance Lipscomb to be the greatest blues guitarist and songster of all time. A glowing portrait of the legendary musician.

 

Film Schedule for Sunday, November 20

Chulas Fronteras (1976) 58 min
A complex, insightful look at the Chicano experience as mirrored in the lives and music of the most acclaimed norteño musicians of the Texas-Mexican border, including Flaco Jimenez and Lydia Mendoza. Selected by The Library Of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

Del Mero Corazon (1979) 29 min
A lyrical journey through the heart of Chicano culture through the love songs of the norteña tradition.

J'ai Été Au Bal / I Went to the Dance (1989) 84 min
The definitive film on the history of the toe-tapping, foot-stomping music of French southwest Louisiana. Includes many Cajun and Zydeco greats, featuring Michael Doucet and Beausoleil, Clifton Chenier, Marc and Ann Savoy, D.L. Menard, and others.

 

About Les Blank
Les Blank, the recipient of this year’s International Documentary Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, is an award-winning independent filmmaker and documentarian with two films listed in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

He is best known for films that offer intimate glimpses into the lives and music of passionate people who live at the periphery of American society including East Texas bluesmen; rural Louisiana French musicians and cooks; Mexican-Americans, German filmmaker Werner Herzog; Appalachian fiddlers; rock musicians; and Serbian, Hawaiian, and Afro-Cuban musicians.

Among Blank's numerous awards are honors from The American Film Institute, The British Academy of Film and Televison Arts, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Woodstock Film Festival.

Mr. Blank has received the American Film Institute's Maya Deren Award for outstanding lifetime achievement as an independent filmmaker and the Edward MacDowell Medal for outstanding contribution to the arts. His work has been supported by The National Endowment For the Arts, The American Film Institute, The National Endowment For the Humanities, The Ford Foundation, The Guggenheim Foundation, PBS and the BBC.

 

About The Austin Music Film Festival
The Austin Music Film Festival (AMFF) provides exhibition of music films often overlooked by other film festivals and offers audience and media exposure for music documentaries, music features, musicals and music videos. AMFF showcases undistributed films, music-related theatrical releases and rarely seen historical classics.

Founded by Austin resident and documentary filmmaker Kathleen Fairweather and is co-produced by Alan Barber, also a filmmaker. AMFF focuses on the cornucopia of concert films, documentaries, feature films, and musicals with roots reaching back to the days of the Harlem Renaissance to the modern day concert performances in IMAX 3D. Austin, Texas, renowned internationally as the “Live Music Capitol of the World,” is the best setting for presenting films about music and musicians with a mix of live performances, and film screenings.

 

Tickets for the "Les Blank Retrospective" are $12 for each evening or $20 for both evenings. Advance reservations are not required, but recommended, and can be made by calling (512) 936-4649. Tickets are also available at the door. The Texas Spirit Theater is located inside The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum at 1800 N. Congress Avenue at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.