Presents the USA screenings of
Jingle Bell Rocks!
...Searching for the Soul of Christmas Music
A FILM BY Mitchell Kezin
LOGLINE:
From The Flaming Lips to The Free Design, JINGLE BELL ROCKS!is a trippy, cinematic sleighride
into the strange and sublime universe of alternative, underground Christmas music.
Featuring Joseph “Run DMC” Simmons, Wayne Coyne, John Waters, Clarence Carter, Bob Dorough, Dr. Demento and The Mighty Sparrow himself.
With songs by James Brown, The Flaming Lips, Jesse Mae Hemphill, The Free Design, Low, Miles Davis, The Mighty Sparrow, A Girl Called Eddy, Akim & The Teddy Vann Prod. Co., The Moonglows, Red Red Meat, Calexico, PLAN 9, Lord Melody, Clarence Reid, Bobby Timmons and many more !
Written & Directed by Mitchell Kezin
Produced by Mila Aung-Thwin, Bob Moore & Mitchell Kezin
Executive Producer: Jeffrey Kline
94:00 min / Colour / Dolby Stereo / DCP
OFFICIAL WEBSITE - USA(LINK)
*** HIREZ Photos can be found under PRESS LINK here:
twitter @jinglebellrocks (LINK)
facebook:/jinglebellrocksdoc (LINK)
instagram: mitchellkezin (LINK)
CONTACT:
Sydney Tanigawa
(212) 219-4029 ext. 41
CONTENTS
Click on page number to jump to section
SYNOPSIS (short)...... 3
DIRECTOR'S NOTES(short version)......
SYNOPSIS (long)......
DIRECTOR'S NOTES (long version)......
MITCHELL KEZIN BIO / mabooshi film company......
EYESTEELFILM BIO......
DOC N' ROLL Festival......
MUSICIANS & CHARACTER BIOS......
Jingle Bell Rocks! Soundtrack......
Mitchell’s TWELVE COOLEST TUNES of CHRISTMAS......
KEY QUOTES:
* * *
"A surprisingly bittersweet doc"
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
* * * *
"...the BEST Christmas movie this year!"
DIFFUSER
* * * *
"Funny & Moving...made with aplomb & charm"
TINY MIX TAPES
* * * *
"A charming witty film"
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
KEY TAGLINES:
They're digging for the meaning of Christmas, one crate at a time !
Saving Christmas music, one unknown song at a time !
These are the SONGS even Santa Claus forgot !
SYNOPSIS (short)
JINGLE BELL ROCKS!is a trippy, cinematic sleighride into the strange and sublime universe of alternative and underground Christmas music, featuring The Flaming Lips, Run-DMC, The Free Design, Low, Miles Davis & Bob Dorough, Clarence Carter, John Waters, Akim & The Teddy Vann Prod. Co., The Mighty Sparrow, A Girl Called Eddy, El Vez and many more.
The film follows Director (and Christmas music junkie) Mitchell Kezin as he unveils twelve of his most cherished, alternative Christmas songs. Hitting the road tohang with the holiday heroes who share his passion, Mitchell's quixotic questuncovers the stories that lay deep inside the grooves,uncovering irreverent andheartfeltinsights into how each of these forgottensongscame to be.
Equal parts social history, pop culture pilgrimage, and revealing character study, JINGLE BELL ROCKS! follows this motley crew of merry misfits as they confront the Christmas music mainstream, reinventing the seasonal soundtrack for the 21st century.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES(short version)
I first fell in love with Christmas music at the age of five. It was December of 1968 and — like many households around North America — our family was listening to Nat ‘King’ Cole. But what captivated me wasn’t his “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” but the flipside, an obscure Yuletide melody called “The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot”.
Its a sombre song, about a young boy, who's fatherless, and alone, at Christmas time. And because of his circumstance, for some reason, Santa actually passes him by.
The notion that Santa could forget anyone, let alone a child like me, was terrifying. Between choruses, Cole’s rich baritone delivers several spoken word stanzas and it was hearing these — for the very first time — that made me feel as if he was right there in the room, speaking (and singing) directly to me.
This particular Christmas season coincided with the crumbling of my parents’ marriage and I became obsessed with the idea that, like Santa, Nat King Cole had some magical insight into my own life and that if I listened to the record hard enough, or long enough, I'd come to understand my predicament more clearly.
Not grasping the fact that Nat’s soliloquy was actually a pre-recorded track, I pestered my mother to play the record over and over again, day after day, hoping to find out how the boy’s story, and my own, would end.
Skip forward twenty years and the magical appeal of Christmas music became a full-fledged mania when, in a flea market, I discovered Miles Davis’s “Blue Xmas (To Whom it May Concern)” featuring caustic vocals by Bob Dorough — who also wrote the tune.
This mid-’60s bebop classic put a decidedly unsentimental spin on the season. And the idea that someone would be critical of Christmas, especially in a song, was a revelation to me.
The funny thing is, for a long time, I hated Christmas music. It was either really cheesy, or it conjured up a holiday experience that was impossible to achieve.
It also seemed that the true spirit of Christmas was getting lost, …And I was desperate to hear some music that was honest and real. So when I stumbled on “Blue Xmas”, I was blown away. And I just knew there had to be more…so I started hunting…
As I began to uncover track after track of hip, heartfelt and irreverent music, I also found a community of musicians and fellow collectors who shared my passion.
Jingle Bell Rocks! is our story.
SYNOPSIS (long)
Pop music tackles tough subjects like war, racism and inequality. Music evolves with the times, helping frame our vision of the world. So why, when Christmas rolls around, are we still stuck cozying up (again) with Bing Crosby, hoping for a blanket of snow ?
Are there any songs that embrace our modern, eclectic, conflicted, but still beloved Christmas celebration? Is there no music to inspire our slightly cranky, somewhat jaded, yet sincerely searching souls?
There is! But these scrappy slices of vinyl can be hard to find. Jingle Bell Rocks! will take you on a trippy, cinematic sleighride to unearth twelve of the most amazing Christmas songs ever recorded.
With titles like, “Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)", “Santa Claus Was a Black Man” or “Merry Christmas Someone” these funny, sad, satirical, and scathing songs explore the flipside of the Yuletide: racial inequality, religious freedom, nuclear war, family angst, conspicuous consumption, or just the yearning sadness of being alone at the happiest time of the year.
Jingle Bell Rocks! follows Director (and Christmas music junkie) Mitchell Kezin as he unveils twelve of his most cherished, alternative Christmas songs. Hitting the road to hang with the holiday heroes — musicians, deejays, record execs, radio hosts, composers, critics and fellow collectors — who share his passion, Mitchell's quixotic quest uncovers the stories that lay deep inside the grooves, uncovering irreverent and heartfelt insights into how each of these forgotten songs came to be.
NYC’s hip hop archivist & music writer Bill Adler and Chicago rock promoter Andy Cirzan are two of the world’s legendary Christmas music connoisseurs who will open up their hearts and their astonishing collections.
We’ll feature exclusive conversations with the artists behind the music: from Oklahoma’s fearless freaks The Flaming Lips to late 60s folk pop family The Free Design, from alt pop chanteuse Erin Moran of A Girl Called Eddy to “Schoolhouse Rock” creator & genuine hillbilly bebopper Bob Dorough, who wrote and sang the caustic “Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)” — a landmark collaboration with jazz giant Miles Davis.
Amid the merry mayhem, we’ll hear irreverent and insightful commentary from figures including cult film guru John Waters (himself a Christmas collector), L.A. DJ and musicologist Dr. Demento, and Canadian radio legend David Wisdom.
Through rollicking live performances, intimate interviews and a kaleidoscope of touching and kooky archive, we’ll journey deep into the Christmas cosmos, uncovering the remarkable stories behind twelve of the weirdest, wildest, most poignant Christmas songs you’ve never heard.
Equal parts social history, pop culture pilgrimage and revealing character study, Jingle Bell Rocks! follows this motley crew of merry misfits as they confront the Christmas music mainstream, reinventing the seasonal soundtrack for the 21st century.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES (long version)
Introduction:
The world that Jingle Bell Rocks! explores is one I am extremely familiar with as I’ve been living in it for twenty-five years: I’ve been a record collecting geek my whole life and since 1990, when I discovered a strange little ditty called “Blue Xmas” I’ve become as obsessed with Christmas music as the characters in my film. And I’ve known many of them for years, long before the idea struck me to make a film about our strange little universe.
So, I’m an insider to this wonderfully strange and exhilarating subculture. I’ve found a place where I belong within it, where my passion for odd, offbeat and obscure Christmas music is not something I feel silly or embarrassed about acknowledging to people. Not since making this film, at least !
And, as I’ve been trading my most exceptional vinyl discoveries with my list of kindred spirits — each of us trying to outdo the other with weirder, more remarkable tunes — the crude cassette tape compilations of the early days gave way to more elaborately packaged, handmade CD compilations, each adorned with original GFX and elaborate liner notes.
As a result, I’ve been exposed to thousands of these amazing songs, and without realizing it, I’d been researching the film I’ve now completed, for the past 20+ years.
My obsession with Christmas music:
I first fell in love with Christmas music at the age of five. It was December of 1968 and — like many households around North America — our family was listening to Nat ‘King’ Cole. But what captivated me wasn’t his “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” but the flipside, an obscure Yuletide melody called “The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot”.
The notion that Santa could forget anyone, let alone a child like me, was terrifying. Between choruses, Cole’s rich baritone delivers several spoken word stanzas and it was hearing these that made me feel as if he was right there in the room, speaking directly to me.
This particular Christmas season coincided with the crumbling of my parents’ marriage and I became obsessed with the idea that, like Santa, Nat King Cole had some magical insight into my own life.
Not grasping the fact that Nat’s soliloquy was a pre-recorded track, I pestered my mother to play it over and over again, hoping to find out how the boy’s story, and my own, would end.
Skip forward twenty years and the magical appeal of Christmas music became a full-fledged mania when, in a flea market, I discovered Miles Davis’s “Blue Xmas (To Whom it May Concern)” featuring caustic vocals by Bob Dorough — who also wrote the tune.
This mid-’60s bebop classic put a decidedly unsentimental spin on the season. And the idea that someone would be critical of Christmas, especially in a song, was a revelation to me.
The funny thing is, for a long time, I hated Christmas music. It was either really cheesy, or it conjured up a holiday experience that was impossible to achieve.
It also seemed that the true spirit of Christmas was getting lost,…Amd, I was desperate to hear some music that was honest and real. So when I stumbled on “Blue Xmas”, I was blown away. And I just knew there had to be more…so I started hunting…
As I began to uncover track after track of hip, heartfelt and irreverent music, I also found a community of musicians and fellow collectors who shared my passion.
Jingle Bell Rocks! is our story.
Why make a film ABOUT Christmas Music ?
As a child, I liked how Christmas wiped out reality for a few weeks. It still feels that way to me now..The season, and its classic chestnuts, are still as escapist, sentimental, silly and (sometimes) spiritual as when I was five years old.
But as our culture becomes increasingly ever more religiously diverse, and society generally more secular, the Christian origins of the holiday tradition are becoming less and less vital to so many more of us.
As a society I believe we still crave the ritual of a shared communal experience, of a time when the intimacy of family and tradition is supposed to take centre stage. But it is a different world now than when an entire nation gathered around the hearth to sing Christmas carols, or sat in front of the radio to hear Bing evoke a singularly “White Christmas”. Those days are gone, but the desire for them hasn’t waned much in modern times.
Today’s holiday season is a volatile concoction of the ridiculous and the sublime, the sacred and the profane. As we muddle our way through the stresses and expectations of the season, Christmas music can remind us why we go to so much trouble.
It can restore our sense of wonder, immerse us in nostalgia, instill a sentimental fantasy or create an entirely new musical experience of how the holiday ought to be. Some people love it, and others hate it, but almost everyone seems to have an opinion.
For those who love it, Christmas music helps us connect — to each other, to our pasts, to a centuries-old communal experience — all in a peculiarly modern way.
No other musical genre flows through the bloodstream of popular culture like Christmas music does. Our appetite for it seems insatiable, but it comes and goes so predictably each year that few, if any of us, ever stop to consider what it really means.
Mixing original interviews into a Technicolor collage of archival performance clips, vintage TV commercials, super- home movies, radio jingles and eye-popping interludes of iconic Christmas ephemera, the film uncovers the meaning behind all the merry musical madness.
With collector Andy Cirzan taking us on a poignant & heartfelt journey through some of the merriest and most fascinating songs ever inspired by the festive season, JINGLE BELL ROCKS! opens our eyes and ears to an irreverent musical universe where cynical songs co-exist with heartfelt one-hit wonders, where the merry mash-ups of today challenge the chestnuts of old, and where perennial favourites keep company with a host of seasonal pop oddities. In doing so, the film reveals the many faces of the holiday — love and longing, irony and hope, sentiment and spirituality — and the uniqueness of the music that takes us there.
MITCHELL KEZIN BIO / mabooshi film company
Founded in 2008 by filmmaker Mitchell Kezin, mabooshi film company is an independent production company devoted to creating provocative, socially-conscious cinema for television, theatrical and other multimedia platforms.
Mitchell Kezin is a graduate of the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design. His first short documentary Steam won Best Short at Montreal World Film Festival (1993) and is housed in the Canadian Museum of History's permanent collection. Mitchell’s feature drama, Haro, had its world premiere there the following year.In 1999 Mitchell received the Telefilm Canada/NSI Drama Prize for the short Dissonance, which won the top prize for Writing and Direction at SUPERFEST XXI in Berkeley, CA
Jingle Bell Rocks! had its World Premiere at the prestigious IDFA in Amsterdam. It won Best World Documentary award at Whistler International Film Fest (2013), BEST INT’L DOC at River’s Edge in Paducah, Kentucky (2014), and two Golden Sheaf Awards “BEST OF FEST” & “EMERGING FILMMAKER” (two of Canada's highest film prizes) from the Yorkton Film Festival in May 2014. It was also nominated fortwo Canadian Screen Awards, BEST Arts Doc & BEST Editing, in 2014.
Jingle Bell Rocks! was released theatrically and on VOD platforms across the USA last Christmas from venerable New York distribution co Oscilloscope Laboratories. On Dec 1st of this year, the film will have its TV premiere across America on AXS TV and HD Net respectively. He still believes in Santa Claus.
EYESTEELFILM BIO
(Co-Producers Bob Moore & Mila Aung-Thwin)
EyeSteelFilm was founded through making films with the homeless community. Daniel Cross’s gritty street trilogy (Danny Boy, 1993; The Street: a film with the homeless, 1996; SPIT: Squeegee Punks in Traffic, 2002) chronicled a generation of Canadians lost to social funding cuts, political apathy, alcoholism and drug use. These films provided a template for using engaged cinéma-vérité and interactivity for empowerment and change. With SPIT: Squeegee Punks in Traffic, the camera was given to a street kid named Roach, who at the time was living on the streets of Montreal. Over the three years it took to make the film, Roach transformed from drug-addicted street kid to filmmaker and has gone on to direct the documentaries Roachtrip, Punk le Vote!, and Les Tickets.