Today, we are living in an era where art has reached its unprecedented heights. The evolution of ideas, methods, tools, and even their practical applications has become an integral and inseparable part of human life—so much so that art is often viewed as a threat to those in power. In popular culture, art has also become a primary means of projecting an image to society and has even become a common tool for making a living. Art is us. If humans are social beings, then art is the social particle within them. So, what is worth exploring when discussing music in contemporary documentary films?
As part of art, film and music have also become ingrained in our daily lives. They are present when we wake up every day. Sounds and moving images come and go without us even needing them. They are created by people we know and by strangers alike. This includes artificial intelligence, without exception. They are brought to us by the very nature of our daily lives, supported by the software we pay to subscribe to. In everyday life shaped by art like this, discussing our lives becomes incredibly engaging—all while filming and singing. Film and music are inevitably implied and created when we ngudarasa (vent our frustrations, ed.). Just like when we discuss the President’s speech with a professional basketball player while playing basketball.
The two feature-length films in this program invite us to break free from preconceptions about what music in film is and how it functions. They present life stories through footage of daily activities interwoven with subtle musical interludes. The films are recorded just like any other ordinary activity we engage in every day. Music appears only when it is truly needed within the story being told. There is no aesthetic agenda. There are no songs reviewed. There is no urgency to highlight the significance of music in recording one’s life. We are invited to immerse ourselves in understanding the life experiences of dear friends who happen to be musicians. Thereafter, we are grateful that music is embedded in the film—otherwise, we might have dozed off. Such is art these days.
— Wok The Rock
Programmer
