By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Paul Thomas Anderson premiered his first documentary, "Junun," on Thursday at the New York Film Festival, unveiling a sonically rich portrait of Indian musicians recording an album with Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood.
The film, just under an hour long, plunges into their recording sessions, along with Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, during a three-week trip to Rajasthan in northwestern India. With scant interviews, and hardly any words from Greenwood, "Junun" instead captures the musicians in full thrall while recording in a 15th century hilltop fort in between occasional power outages.
"Junun," which roughly translates as "madness of love," will be released on the movie subscription platform MUBI on Friday. Its premiere at the New York Film Festival, where Anderson last year debuted his Thomas Pynchon adaptation "Inherent Vice," was a low-key affair without a Q&A with Anderson.
The film, too, came with little explanation. Greenwood, who has scored Anderson's last three films ("There Will Be Blood," ''The Master" and "Inherent Vice"), would be considered by many to be the star of the documentary.
But the Radiohead guitarist remains largely in the background, thrust forward no more than the horn and percussion players of the Rajasthan Express. Their musical ability, sowed in generations of tradition, has a powerfully hypnotic effect.
Shooting digitally, and occasionally experimenting with drones that hover above the fort, "Junun" focuses on their intimate sessions of the East-West collaboration. When the electricity is running, there are few interruptions other than a handful of birds and the occasional nap.
"No toilet. No shower. But full power," says one musician.
The resulting album, produced by Nigel Godrich, is to be released by Nonesuch in November.
For Anderson, film and music are particularly intertwined. He's made music videos for Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann (whose songs made much of the soundtrack to his "Magnolia") and, most recently, Joanna Newsom. Before shooting her walking on New York streets for "Sapokanikan," Newsom played the narrator of "Inherent Vice."
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More