Documentary, 1h30, 2016

Director: Thorsten Schütte

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Synopsis:

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Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences. Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.Zappa was uncompromising as he led the charge against music censorship in the ’90s and even went on to embrace the role of quasi-cultural ambassador in the Czech Republic.

 

His music and ideas are vital, and they cut across generations, while his goal of freeing the listener from conformity still resonates today.​

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Awards and festivals: 

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2016 Sundance Film Festival (Section Doc Premieres) - Vainqueur du Asbury Park Music Foundation Award - San Sebastian Film Festival: prix Abaltegi-Tabakalera - Athens International Film Festival: Golden Athena Award - Festival International du Film de La Roche-sur-Yon - Jerusalem International Film Festival - Perth Revelation Festival - Øya Music Festival - NZ International Film Festival - Melbourne International Film Festival - Sarajevo Film Festival - Inedit- Sao Paulo - Jameson Film Festival - Sydney Underground - Helsinki Film Festival.

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Partners: 

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​In coproduction with UFA Fiction (Germany), ARTE France, SWR and the Zappa Family Trust. With the support of CNC, Procirep Angoa, MFG (Germany).

 

World sales: Sony Pictures Classic

 

Broadcasters: ARTE France, SWR.​