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Presented by Bo Ho Films, Flatpack Film Festival, Birmingham City University and Glee Club
The evening will feature a specially arranged live music set, in remembrance of the songs of Mark Linkous and Sparklehorse, followed by the exclusive film screening, Q&A with the directors and after-screening social / late-bar.
The Sad & Beautiful World of Sparklehorse’ is a film about Mark Linkous, singer-songwriter and founder of the alternative rock band Sparklehorse.
A cult and hugely influential figure in the alternative music scene, the critically-acclaimed Linkous had a dramatic life that saw him battle with drug and alcohol addiction, paralysis, and debilitating mental illness that resulted in his eventual suicide.
Sparklehorse’s music was heralded by his peers and critics; a mix of delicate pop, discordant punk and melodic odyssey; it has been described as “defiantly surrealist… with all manner of references to smiling babies, organ music, birds, and celestial bodies.”
Collaborators included PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, The Flaming Lips, Danger Mouse, David Lynch, Thom Yorke (Radiohead), and Nina Persson (The Cardigans) to name but a few.
After Linkous’ tragic suicide in 2010, U.K. based filmmakers Alex Crowton and Bobby Dass were inspired to create a film about Mark’s life and music, having previously worked with the singer to make promo film. They would invite Linkous’ friend and collaborator, Angela Faye Martin to invoke a narrative about the artist’s darkly powerful oeuvre. With an eye for the poignancy of his brief life of 47 years, they embarked on a loving portrayal of the life and work of a creative genius at odds with his world – anti-creative forces Linkous metaphorically referred to as, ‘witches of white noise’.
The film features interviews with Linkous himself as well as; Jonathan Donahue & Grasshopper (Mercury Rev), Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven), Emily Haines (Metric), Adrian Utley (Portishead), John Parish (PJ Harvey), Matthew Wright, Ed Harcourt, Gemma Hayes and others.
“Mark Linkous’s music—the long chords, distortions, and halting rhythms— is like the sound of someone thinking, feeling, and creating at just the moment I hit play. Among the many praiseworthy elements of this movie is it’s restraint. In telling the tragic, truncated life, it never for a moment forgets that the true story lies in the beauty of the achievement.”
Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain author)