Vincent Moon Comes to NWFF Starting Tomorrow

To fans of emerging bands, particularly of artists whose skyrocketing careers mean that each subsequent tour is likely to take place in a venue less intimate than the one before, the immediacy of these films is a revelation that inspires held breath and exploding hearts. With their distillation of musical experiences to their most pure and creative, they are consistently among the best things on the internet.

Starting Friday evening, the Northwest Film Forum dedicates an entire week to the work of Vincent Moon (real name, Mathieu Saura), bringing the director to town to talk about his movies, conduct a workshop on music filmmaking, and to film some Seattle bands in takeaway shows of their own. As someone known to breathlessly await the arrival of the next installation from La Blogotheque, I have similarly been eagerly anticipating this series since it was first announced.

The weekend is consumed with a series of music films: on Friday Cheap Magic Inside follows Beirut playing songs from the Flying Cup Club around New York City; Saturday brings Miroir Noir, a look at Arcade Fire's world tour for Neon Bible; Sunday night has an expanded look at the Takeaway Shows, including some that haven't yet appeared online. Next week brings Burning, a Mogwai concert film and REM 6 Days, documenting six days in the life of Michael Stipe. Finally, the program also includes more experimental films: Adelia follows a 90-year-old woman who has never been to a concert to a Mogwai show and La Faute des Fleurs chronicles Moon's visit to investigate a Japanese folk singer. Aside from unbreakable commitments or empty bank accounts, there aren't many reasons not to check out all of these.

If this overview isn't convincing, a dive into the rich archives may prove more compelling. Just be aware that it's a deep rabbit hole; don't jump in unless you have some time and bandwidth to spare.