Double feature - The Last Pogo (1978) and Kurt Cobain: About A Son (2006)
Film, Toronto Underground Cinema, June 13

In what is being described by festival organizers as "experimental", the NXNE film festival begins a few days early here in 2011 - while the main feature films will begin on Wednesday at screen at the National Film Board Mediatheque and the Toronto Underground Cinema, organizers are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the film component by screening favourite films to whet your appetite for the main attraction.

NXNE will screen over 40 music-themed films over the course of the festival, but kicked off opening night with a double bill featuring The Last Pogo, Colin Brunton's 1978 documentary of the short-lived punk music at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, and Kurt Cobain: About A Son, AJ Schnack's touching telling of the life of the iconic American music.



In The Last Pogo, scenesters and organizers discuss the final punk rock concert (by the same name) at the Horseshoe Tavern on December 1 1978. Featuring (in order) Scenics, Cardboard Brains, Secrets, Ugly, Mods, Viletones and Teenage Head, the film depicts the end of a nine-month residency of punk at the infamous venue.



Kurt Cobain: About A Son is a stark and humbling account of the life of the legendary Nirvana frontman, told in his own words. Using some 25 hours of audio interview conducted by Michael Azerrad - originally recorded in preparation for Azerrad's book Come As You Are: The Story Of Nirvana - between December 1992 and March 1993, the film is set against flowing visuals from Cobain's haunts in Aberdeen, Olympia and Seattle.

The film is quietly captivating, and while viewing one can't help but be quietly respectful of the weight of the subject therein - hearing Cobain speak so openly and delve so deeply into introspection is fascinating. Cobain's story (and accordingly, his voice) are the focus of this documentary, and his photo isn't even shown until the final frames of the feature. Equally eerie and remarkable, this film is a brilliant look into the life of an icon, and a must-see for music lovers regardless of their feelings for the troubled front man.