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The Solitary Life of Cranes Soundtrack for a Revolution
documentar
27 minutes ■ 2008 ■ United Kingdom 82 minutes ■ 2009 ■ USA ■ In Competition
Thursday 3:00p
■
Friday 9:00p
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Monday 12:00p Friday 6:00p
■
Saturday 9:30a
Plays in: Short Docs (p16)
Directors/Screenwriters: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman ■ Producers: Josalyn Barnes, Jim
Czarnecki, Bill Guttentag, Dylan Nelson, Dan Sturman ■ Executive Producers: Mark E.
Downie, Danny Glover, Gina Harrell, Marc Henry Johnson, Jarrett Lilien ■ Cinematographers:
Director: Eva Weber ■ Producer: Samantha Zarzosa ■ Cinematographers: Catherine Derry,
Jon Else, Stephen Kazmierski, Buddy Squires ■ Editor: Jeffrey Doe ■ Music/Composer: Philip
Marcus Waterloo ■ Editor: Emiliano Battista ■ Music/Composer: Matthew Davidson ■
Marshall ■ Principal Cast: Harry Belafonte, Julian Bond, Anthony Hamilton, John Lewis,
cityofcranes.com
Coretta Scott King, Andrew Young
ies
■ soundtrackforarevolutionfilm.com
Part city symphony part stunning visual poem, the invisible life
The story of the American civil rights movement is told through
of a city, its patterns and hidden secrets, is seen through the eyes
its powerful music—the songs protesters sang on picket lines, in
of crane drivers working high above its streets. Within the loose
mass meetings, in paddy wagons, and in jail cells as they fought
structure of a day, starting with the drivers climbing up at dawn
for justice and equality. These iconic songs evolved from slave
and ending with them coming down after a nightshift, the film
chants, the labor movement, and especially the black church.
observes the city as it awakens with a bustle of activity, through
The music enabled blacks to sing words they could not say, and
the lull of midday and the manic rush in the evening, until it
was crucial in helping the protesters as they faced down brutal
calms down again deep into the night.
aggression with dignity and non-violence.
Throughout the film, the drivers share their
39
New performances of the traditional freedom songs by contem-
thoughts and reflections on London and life
porary artists include John Legend, Joss Stone, Wyclef Jean, and
in general. What emerges is a lyrical explo-
The Roots. This celebration of the vitality of the music vibrantly
ration of how our existence is shaped
blends heart-wrenching interviews, dramatic images, and
through the environment we inhabit, both
thrilling contemporary performances—a combination of signifi-
for the drivers high up in the sky and the
cance, energy, and power. [violence]
people on the ground they are watching.
Eva Weber
Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Director’s Statement (Dan Sturman)
Director’s Statement
Although there have already been some
As a filmmaker, I am particularly interested in exploring the con-
truly remarkable documentary films made
flict between the private and the public, of being intimate but
about the movement, our goal was to tell the
distant, and the way we relate to each other in urban environ-
story differently—on an emotional level—to
ments. I set out to make a film that explores feelings of solitude
engage the heart as well as the mind. It was
and isolation; and then tried to find the best way to express this
for this reason that that we focused on the
in the film.
Bill Guttentag
music of the movement—the powerful
So, while this film is told from the drivers’ perspective, it is
songs the activists themselves sang.
obviously shaped through my own experiences and
Director’s Statement (Bill Guttentag)
interpretation of their situation. However, I always try and keep
an openness to change my ideas about a film or a subject, Virtually everyone we interviewed started
during the interviews, the filming or in post-production, and to singing at some point. Songs were com-
respond to what is actually unfolding in front of me. For me, pletely part of the DNA of the movement.
films are very much created in the editing, and I love to explore It’s a different time now—what are the
different ideas and to be surprised by the way a film develops. movements today? And what is fuelling
them? I think people definitely thought
Filmography: City of Cranes, The Intimacy of Strangers, Makinds of a Queen, Steel Homes about the music back then, all the time.
Dan Sturman
(2009 AIFF) That’s why people sang to us.
Filmography: Guttentag: Nanking, Twin Towers, You Don’t Have to Die; Sturman: Nanking,
Twin Towers
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