Back in 2020, Minnesotan films-about-music festival Sound Unseen made its virtual Austin debut with reasonable fanfare.
Two well-received years – including one in-person function – later, the 23-year-old fest now promotes itself as a two-city function. Anchored in Minneapolis and the Texas capital, the festival schedules back-to-back in-person weekend screenings next month. Sound Unseen runs Thursday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 6, once again planted at Austin Film Society’s AFS Cinema.
In-person tickets, ranging $13 to $15, are available online for each day of the fest. Tickets for virtual screening options of select films go on sale Oct. 12, prices TBA.
Opening night selection Finding Her Beat, directed by Dawn Mikkelson and Keri Pickett, tells the tale of two women drummers reversing the tradition of male-only Taiko percussion against the backdrop of a barren Minnesota winter. Co-director Keri Pickett and Taiko Midwest Executive Director Jennifer Weir will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.
Additional features Friday I’m In Love and Meet Me in the Bathroom transport viewers to Houston and New York City, respectively. The former looks at H-Town’s LGBTQIA community experiences through the lens of Numbers Nightclub. Based on Lizzy Goodman’s 2017 book of the same name, Bathroom journeys through the Big Apple during the early aughts with unseen footage of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Strokes, TV On the Radio, and more.
Sound Unseen will also offer a rotation of short films and music video premieres across its four-day run. Short films of note include director Michael Anthony Gibson’s local vinyl shop-focused documentary Welcome to Waterloo Records and Megan Trufant Tillman (aka Megz Kelli of Magna Carda) as writer and director of little trumpet – with an original score co-composed by Magna Carda and BLK ODYSSY. Music videos to songs by the likes of Onry, Kaya Stewart, and more will also appear for Austinites’ viewing pleasure.
This article appears in October 7 • 2022.