The latest music documentaries at DokStation: September 18-22 in Bucharest
Now in its eighth edition, DokStation Music Documentary Film Festival, the only festival in the country dedicated to music documentaries, takes place from September 18-22, in several venues in Bucharest: Control Club, Apollo111, Expirat and Grădina cu Filme.
This year’s selection features 29 documentaries, most of them national premieres, with and about music legends: The Rolling Stones, Simple Minds, José Feliciano, Neil Young, Freddie Mercury, Bruce Springsteen, ABBA, Cyndi Lauper, Mogwai, Pete Doherty, The Black Keys, Blur and many others, as well as concerts with Fulu Miziki (afro-futuristic punk, Congo) and Liraz (electro pop, Iran).
The program of screenings and related events is available at: www.dokstation.ro
Tickets are available through Eventbook.
Wednesday, September 18 – the first day of the festival brings six national premiere music documentary screenings: Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible (2023), about one of Scotland’s most acclaimed bands, and This Is a Film About The Black Keys (2024) – screening followed by Q&A with director Jeff Dupre – at Control Club. Cyndi Lauper: Let The Canary Sing (2023) and Teaches of Peaches (2024) talk about music and activism from a feminist perspective at Apollo111 Theater. The evening ends with two documentaries about two rock music legends, Neil Young and Zucchero, at the Movie Garden.
Thursday, September 19 – DokStation continues at Control Club with a screening of the documentary Éthiopiques Suite Magnétique (2023) about the largest collection of Ethiopian music, followed by a concert by Congolese band Fulu Miziki, known for their Afro-futuristic punk sound and energetic live shows using instruments improvised from recycled objects in search of new sounds. At Apollo111, we see the lesser-known side of ABBA’s success in the latest documentary about the famous Swedish band, followed by Michel Gondry’s feature-length film Do It Yourself (2023) about the music video wizard. At the Film Garden, rock legends Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones tell their stories in two national premiere documentaries, while fans of Blur are expected at Expirat – Carol Halls. The evening concludes with the screening of the documentary Free Party: A Folk History (2023) about the biggest illegal raves in British history – from 20:30 at Expirat.
Friday, September 20 – the third day of the festival brings documentary screenings of the beloved bands Efterklang and Mogwai – at Control Club – and the controversial Die Antwoord – at Expirat. At the Film Garden, the documentary 35,000 Watts – The Story of College Radio chronicles the adventures of the visionaries and rebels on American campuses who changed the course of musical history and left a powerful cultural imprint. The evening concludes with a must-see documentary about legendary Puerto Rican-born musician José Feliciano. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Helen Murphy.
Saturday, September 21 – DokStation continues with documentaries on British rocker Pete Doherty (The Libertines) and Swedish musician José González at Expirat, while fans of stars Céline Dion and Freddie Mercury are expected at the Movie Garden. At Apollo111, an evening dedicated to the music and pop culture of the 90s, with documentaries about iconic artists of the period: Vanilla Ice (screening + Q&A) and Milli Vanilli. The evening concludes with a concert by Liraz – the queen of Persian electro-pop, for the first time in Bucharest – at 9pm at Control Club.
Sunday, September 22 – the last day of the DokStation Music Documentary Film Festival brings documentaries about musicians and iconic moments in alternative culture – S/He Is Still Her/e: The Official Genesis P-Orridge P-Orridge Documentary (2024) and Electronic Body Movie (2024) – at Control Club, an evening dedicated to jazz music – The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit (2024) and They All Came Out to Montreux (2024) – at Apollo111, as well as an event in memoriam Nicu Covaci at the Film Garden: the screening of the documentary Phoenix. Har/Jar (2022) followed by a Q&A with director Cornel Mihalache and his guests Mircea Baniciu and Mircea Florian.
The DokStation Music Documentary Film Festival is designed to attract a diverse audience passionate about two of the most popular arts – film and music – through music documentary film screenings, live concerts and related events in buildings with history and tradition, as well as in unconventional spaces.
The 8th edition of the DokStation Music Documentary Film Festival is organized by Wearebasca and DokStation Association and presented by Orange.
A cultural project co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund and the National Film Center.
The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grantee.
Partners: Capital City Hall through creart – Garden with movies, Control Club, Apollo111, Expirat, Cărturești. Media partners: RockFM, Scena9, GLAMOUR magazines, Zile și Nopți, Ziarul Metropolis, IQads, AaRC, MovieNews.ro, Happ.ro, Munteanu, AIVI Media Hub.