The gift of sound and vision at Doc/Fest.

Something a bit different this week.

I paid to see three films this week as part of Sheffield Doc/Fest , all of which had a pop music element, all of which were uplifting and all of which I enjoyed.

'Pulp: A Film About Life, Death and Supermarkets' was everything I had hoped it would be; a record of their hometown farewell concert, a eulogy for the "common people" and a testimonial to the band's native city of Sheffield. I guess there's always a thrill from seeing your neighbourhood up on the big screen but it's not easy to capture the character of a place; it takes an outsider's eye. Director Fabian Habich nails it. I thought it was heart-warming without being patronising, quirky without being whimsical, honest without being probing and a film for the fans without being fawning. As with all good things it left me wanting more. Stepping outside afterwards there was a double rainbow over Sheffield. There is no better applause.

'Beyond Clueless' is an excellent film studies essay on the teenage psyche as portrayed through High School movies of the past two decades....or a somewhat random selection of clips in search of a theme...depending on your mileage. I thought it was at its best when the freely associated imagery was allowed to aspire to the condition of music. For my taste Fairuza Balk's narration became too intrusive and distancing. The hipster crowd and media students clearly loved it but I came in with a different set of reference points. My education with this genre begins with John Hughes' films and finishes sometime around 'Clueless' (1995) which is obviously this film's starting point. Most of the footage was fascinating precisely because I'm unfamiliar with the source material. It's always humbling to realise how many films I haven't seen. Let's face, these days I'm more likely to be the parent in one of these films than one of the cool kids. Director Charlie Lyne is sickeningly young, clearly talented and the guy behind the acclaimed Ultra Culture blog. In short I HATE HIM for living my life. The perfectly attuned film score was performed live by the wonderful Summer Camp which was reason to attend in itself. The volume was loud, the band tight and the film fascinating to watch; a great experience.

'How We Used To Live' is a film made entirely from archive footage and is a meditation on how post-war London has stayed the same as much as it has changed. It features an exceptionally evocative score by Pete Wiggs and this was performed live with his Saint Etienne bandmates. The juxtaposition of choice clips, dreamy music and Ian McShane's narration was just perfect. The whole project could so easily have disappeared up it's own hauntological arse but this was never nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. It was relevant and strangely life affirming. Wonderful.

And they were just the ones I could afford/get to. There was also Richard Hawley at Chatsworth and The Crucible has British Sea Power performing their 'Man Of Arran' score tomorrow.

Looking forward to next year's Fest already.