Perpetual Movements – A Tribute to Carlos Paredes
Feature Documentary Directed by Edgar Pera

A gorgeous and evocative documentary in 17 movements, in which Super 8 footage and personal testimonies attest to the genius and the bravery of Carlos Paredes--the greatest Portuguese guitarist of the 20th century.

***BUY TICKETS***
SAT., JUNE 30, 2007
8:30 - Live Music by Rebecca Schiffman (details)
9:00 - Movies Begin

On the roof of The Old American Can Factory
CLICK for DIRECTIONS
232 Third Street @ Third Avenue
Gowanus, Brooklyn (Between Carroll gardens and Park Slope)
In the event of rain the show is indoors at the same location.
Tickets -$8 at the door or $5 online HERE with code: RFJUNE
Presented in partnership with - IFC.com, New York magazine &
XØ Projects, Inc

PERPETUAL MOVEMENTS
(Edgar Pera | Portugal | 69 min)

Perpetual Movements is a unique cinematic tapestry constructed from recorded personal anecdotes, the strings of a guitar, and strips of film from a Super 8 camera, all lovingly woven together in a style that evokes distant memories and intimate old family pictures. At one point in Perpetual Movements, an old associate of Paredes comments that “One of the wonderful qualities of the guitar is its ability to make friends for the one who plays it,” and at the conclusion of this film it is easy to feel that one has somehow acquired a new companion.

Carlos Paredes wrote extraordinarily complex and lovely songs for the Coimbra Fado--a traditional Portuguese guitar—and he is considered one of the most accomplished Portuguese musicians to have ever lived, having earned the nickname “The Man With a Thousand Fingers.”

But Paredes’ appeal derives not just from his virtuosity. When Paredes performed live, he often took his time between songs to tell deceptively simple anecdotes about his life—tales about his modest upbringing, political resistance, imprisonment, amateur struggles and eventual success. The 1984 recording of a Carlos Paredes concert in Oporto that Pera uses as the starting point for Perpetual Movements features dozens of these charming short stories, and by combining the recordings with expressionistic footage from across Portugal and original interviews with Paredes’ friends and supporters, Pera has created a surprisingly deep and thoughtful portrait of one of the most modest musical geniuses of the past hundred years. The testimonials of friends and colleagues enlighten us about a man who--in spite of his privations--never complained as he struggled at center all sorts of personal and political crises.

The work Paredes left behind is of incontestable value, not only for the beauty of the compositions and his interpretations, but also for the dimension that it gave to the Portuguese Guitar. His performances continue to evoke a sense of mystical liberation--a sense of deep nostalgia and also an enthusiasm for the future. Documentarian Edgar Pera has taken Paredes’ music and spirit and created a sparkling film that defies definition and conjures that same magical sensation.

The Music

Rebecca Schiffman is an artist and musician born and raised in New York. Her songs are lazy and sparce, but not lazy in the sense that they lack motivation or charisma--more lazy in the sense that they are stripped down and pure, like a proud nudist at a 60's revival folk festival who has aged quite gracefully.