Life in One Chord

Brunswick Music Festival x BPH, the finest music documentaries presented during the start of March. Come have a dance in the cinema and out with Tristan Harris (RRR’s Golden Age of Piracy) playing in the foyer. Punk renegade Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits, Dimmer) takes us on an iconoclastic tour through a career of highs and lows from suburban Dunedin to the heights of international fame and back again. Dunedin may seem like an unlikely location for a musical revolution, yet it became the locus of an indie music movement that was heard around the world. Riding the wave of the Dunedin Sound was Shayne Carter a loudmouthed teenage punk whose scrappy devil-may-care attitude is perfectly mirrored by Margaret Gordon’s cheeky and incredibly entertaining rockumentary. Early on Carter objects to having to narrate the film from his droll memoir and blithely suggests bringing in broadcaster Carol Hirschfeld to perform the task instead, which is exactly what Gordon does. We get taken on a self-deprecating tour of some of Dunedin’s less desirable suburbs allowing Carter to reminisce about his schooldays, including a sister-traumatising first gig in the school hall. Gordon’s film also acts as a bit of a primer on the Dunedin Sound with scene bigwigs like The Clean and The Verlaines at first surpassing Carter’s teenage punk ambitions until Straitjacket Fits is born out of tragedy and international stardom awaits. Carter is still living the punk life as Dimmer making now as good a time as any to celebrate a Life in One Chord. Brunswick Picture House are excited to present a series of awesome music docs that demand to be seen on a big screen with great sound! See two of the greatest concert films of all time, STOP MAKING SENSE (with DJ Woody McDonald) and SUMMER OF SOUL (with Emma Peel setting the scene on the decks before and after the film.) Also on screen is the fascinating documentary on electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani in A LIFE IN WAVES with Artificial’s Nicole Skeltys and Beautiful Dark’s Dylan taking you on a retro-electro journey before the film. Plus, the new film on Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits), LIFE IN ONE CHORD will be preceded with tunes from Tristan Harris (RRR’s Golden Age of Piracy). One great music documentary every day from Sunday March 1st to Wednesday March 4th. Details via BMF website and www.brunswickpicturehouse.com.auMusic DocumentaryPT1H34MM2025-12-04
Margaret Gordon
Life in One Chord"Life in One Chord"

Showtimes

March 3, 6:10 pm

Brunswick Picture House