© via the Doc'n Roll Facebook page
Founded in 2013, the Doc’n Roll Film Festival offers audiences the opportunity to watch independent music documentaries in local cinemas, where these incredible films are shown as they were designed to be watched: LOUD!
Read on as Ru reflects on last year’s festival and looks ahead to the 11th edition, with an interview with one of the co-founders, Vanessa Lobon Garcia.
2023
Picture this: the film credits are rolling in a cosy screen at the Hackney Picturehouse. The audience is giving a standing ovation. Members of the band – the subjects of the film – stroll down to the front of the auditorium to begin the intimate, audience-led Q & A session.
It’s the final screening of the Doc’n Roll film festival, and the world premiere of Storm Heaven: Trampolene marks the close of this womxn-led, 18-day celebration of indie music documentary films.
In its tenth year, the festival screened a selection of carefully curated features, from portraits of industry icons like The Zombies (The Zombies: Hung up on a Dream) and Cyndi Lauper (Let the Canary Sing: Cyndi Lauper) to artists that sit - however undeservedly - below the surface of the mainstream such as Nicky Hopkins (The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins), a pianist who contributed riffs to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and Judee Sill (Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill), a folk artist who sadly never found commercial success in her lifetime. 2023’s festival also screened Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party, the first ever authorised film about the anarchic band that kickstarted Nick Cave’s music career.
Showcasing films that explore underground subcultures, tell extraordinary stories, and champion many first-time filmmakers, Doc’n Roll has grown from a small, speciality festival based in East London to one that runs across cities to platform work from filmmakers and artists all over the world.
2024
Fast-forward to now, and the festival is back and bigger than ever for its 11th edition. Taking place between the 24th October - 10th November, this year’s festival offers 80 screenings across 14 cities. With films spanning the spectrum of genre, from rock, punk, hip hop, and R&B, to folk, experimental music and jazz, there truly is something for everyone’s musical taste.
Household-names like DEVO (DEVO), Steppenwolf (Born to be Wild: The Story of Steppenwolf), and Wu-Tang founder, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, (Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys) top the bill of this year’s festival, but there are plenty of others not to be missed. As per its ethos, Doc’n Roll continues to spotlight iconic artists you might not have heard of, such as Ellen McIlwaine (Goddess of Slide: The Forgotten Story of Ellen McIlwaine), an inspirational story of a musician who fought for her right to play the slide guitar, or ska legend Pauline Black (Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story).
This year’s programme also showcases the work of many LGBTQ+ artists, such as Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, a film about Black trans soul singer, Jackie Shane, and Teaches of Peaches, a thrilling film about the provocative powerhouse, Peaches.
Combining archival material and interviews with footage of live shows, these films feel educational and inspirational, and on the big screen, their impact is electric.
But where did this all begin? I spoke with Vanessa Lobon Garcia, one of the co-founders, about the origins of the festival, the highs and lows of the project, and what’s on offer for music and film lovers in the coming months.
Why did you start the Doc'n Roll film festival? Did you have prior experience in running large-scale events like this?
I started Doc'n Roll because no one was organising a music documentary festival in the UK! There were film festivals for almost everything, but none dedicated exclusively to music documentaries. Colm, my co-director, and I are both passionate about film and music, and we saw a gap in the market. Plus, many indie music documentaries weren't getting the chance to be shown on the big screen, so we felt it was important to create a space where these stories could be shared with an audience that truly values the culture and history of music. Before Doc'n Roll, I didn’t have any experience running events—aside from my birthday parties! I worked in fashion before launching Doc'n Roll, so this was a completely new venture for me.
How has the festival changed from its inception to today?
When we started, the festival was much smaller, with just 12 in one location, Hackney Picturehouse. Since then, it has expanded significantly, now touring 12 cities across the UK. We now also screen in Dublin and 3 years ago we launched the festival across the pond in Brooklyn! We've built a dedicated community of music lovers and filmmakers, and the variety of films we showcase has grown with us as well. We’ve also been able to incorporate more Q&A sessions, panel discussions, and live performances, which has helped us build a more immersive and engaging festival experience.
What's the hardest thing about running the festival?
The hardest part of running the festival is doing it with no funding and relying entirely on ticket sales. As an independent festival with no private or public sponsors, we face a lot of challenges. Last year, we also lost our BFI Audience Fund, which made things even tougher. Each year, we put all our energy (and money) into the festival, take the risk, and hope that ticket sales will cover the costs of the loans we take out to make it happen.
What has been your proudest moment when running Doc'n Roll?
One of my proudest moments was receiving feedback from filmmakers who said that our festival gave them the opportunity to have their films seen by audiences they otherwise might not have reached. Hearing how Doc’n Roll has helped create a platform for underrepresented voices in both music and film is incredibly rewarding. Another proud moment is when we expanded outside of London, showing that the festival’s vision resonated across the UK and the US.
What film are you most excited to be screening this year?
I’m thrilled about this year’s full lineup—it’s incredibly diverse and highlights revolutionary artists. It’s hard to pick just one film, but I’m especially excited to have so many female artists represented. I’m also excited that both Peaches and Pauline Black will be attending the festival in person for Q&A sessions after both of their amazing films!
See the full programme and get your tickets here.
Tickets for screenings are on sale now, but if the Doc’n Roll festival hasn’t made its way to your city just yet, check out Doc’n Roll TV, the festival’s free, worldwide on-demand streaming platform, where you can watch a wide selection of films at home.
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