RTP-area local music and culture

[joyce.ventimiglia AT gmail.com]

I know there's a lot going on Thursday night, but before the big rock
shows, come check out:

"Monster Road"
Carolina Theatre in Durham
Thursday, January 27th at 7 pm.

Award winning and locally produced documentary "Monster Road" explores
the dazzling and fantastic worlds of legendary underground clay
animator Bruce Bickford.  Entirely self-taught, the 57 year old
Bickford works alone in a small basement studio in his house near
Seattle. His films, especially the dark and magical clay animations he
created for musician Frank Zappa in the 1970s, have achieved cult
status worldwide, even though very little of his 40 year body of work
has been edited or released to the public.

Tracing the origins of Bickford's wildly unique sensibility, the film
journeys back to his childhood in a competitive household during the
paranoia of the Cold War and examines his relationship with his father,
George, a retired aerospace engineer who is facing the onset of
Alzheimer's Disease. Along with a glimpse into the world of a true
visionary, the film reveals a story that, like childhood itself, is at
once scary and funny, sad and baffling.

Winner of the Best Documentary Jury Prizes at the 2004 Slamdance Film
Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Independent Film Festival of Boston,
Indie Memphis Film Festival, and the Red Bank International Film
Festival.

More info and a trailer:
www.BrightEyePictures.com

The San Francisco Chronicle: "Fascinating, disturbing, and often
hilarious"
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/01/DDGOI5U1DN1.DTL&type=movies>

The Chicago Reader: "Eerie and affectionate"
<http://www.chicagoreader.com/movies/sidebars/CUFF2004.html>

Grapevine Culture: "Simultaneously beautiful, inspiring and
bittersweet"
<http://www.grapevineculture.com/review.php?r=362&s=1>

Portland Mercury: "Smart and affectionate"
<http://www.portlandmercury.com/2004-07-01/film4.html>

(Full disclosure, my husband made this and I'm credited as an associate
producer, but even if I wasn't I'd tell you its a really, really good
movie. Plus, Sharkquest did the music and every time I see the movie
I'm humming bits from the soundtrack for days - Joyce Ventimiglia)