Prague - Over 60 films of various genres will be introduced at a festival with a name that sounds more like a mysterious comic book planet - Moffom. The title, though, makes perfect sense when decoded, Music on Film - Film on Music.
For the fifth time, Prague will host the MOFFOM festival in the Lucerna, Světozor and Evald movie theaters between 16 and 20 October.
This year, the festival focuses on New York City, with a lineup of influences starting from Harlem jazz of the 1950s and continuing with the disco age of the late 1970s and the hiphop scene born in the South Bronx a few years later.
Besides that, it also features Andy Warhol's Factory, punk scene and club CBGB. The flavor of New York City is present in other categories as well, all of them featuring a number of hip hop culture movies from all around the world.
From Mambo to Hip Hop
Last year, the festival premiered musical drama Once in the Czech Republic, this year, it will present New York City documentaries From Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale, as well as A Great Day in Harlem. The latter tells the story behind a group photo of jazz musicians that was taken in 1950 by Art Kane for Esquire magazine.
From Mambo to Hip Hop (trailer)
Another New York City inspired film, NYC 77: The Coolest Year in Hell, will introduce the city which faced an economic decline and at the same time became a breeding ground for many different musical styles like punk, hip hop and disco.
On a different note, there's the film Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 follows the birth of a concert grand piano by Steinway, starting out with the wood selection and ending with its production in a New York factory.
Falco and Dylan
Besides documentaries, MOFFOM also presents biographical films like I'm not There by Todd Haynes. In this film, Bob Dylan is portrayed by six different actors, including Cate Blanchett.
MOFFOM will also introduce a new Austrian-German film Falco - Verdammt, wir leben noch! (Falco: Damn It, We're Still Alive!) about the Austrian superstar who has sold 60 million records.
Founder and director of MOFFOM John Caulkins describes the journey of his festival: "Five years ago we founded this festival with a certain vision which was the interconnection between music and film. During those five years, MOFFOM has become a Prague phenomenon. Needless to say, there are about 20 festivals around the world of a similar type and their number is growing."
No MOFFON without Gogol Bordello
A MOFFOM festival focused on New York City would not work well without a film about the metropolis' famous multicultural Gypsy band Gogol Bordello.
Last year, Pavla Fleischer's film The Pied Piper of Hutzovina was introduce to the Prague audience, this year Margarita Jimeno's film Gogol Bordello Non-Stop will follow the same topic.
Besides the films, MOFFOM also offers a program of concerts. On 18 October, it will introduce a multimedia show The Ship of Fools, featuring Alexander Hacke of German Einstürzende Neubauten and visual artist Daneille de Picciotto.
You can see the MOFFOM website in English here.
