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Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band
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Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band
IDFA 2019

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band

Daniel Roher
Canada
2019
100 min
International Premiere
Festival history

The five members of the legendary Canadian-American rock group The Band were like brothers. But after 17 years, they called it quits with a lavish farewell concert on November 25th, 1976, at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom.

A relaxed Robbie Robertson, the now 76-year-old former guitarist, songwriter and member of the group, looks back on his own past and that of The Band. At the age of 16, the son of a First Nation Canadian mother and a Jewish father traveled from Canada to the Mississippi Delta, where he got to know the other members of the group. They backed rockabilly musician Ronnie Hawkins, played with Bob Dylan on a celebrated tour, and developed the style of roots rock that they took around the world to wild acclaim. In 1976, Martin Scorsese captured their farewell concert in his masterful documentary The Last Waltz.

There’s remarkably little old footage of this legendary group, but the impressive lineup of interviewees (including Bruce Springsteen and George Harrison) makes up for that. And then there’s the music, of course. This is very much Robertson’s story—a gift for the many fans.

Credits
Director
Production
    Alicia Giammaria for White Pine Pictures,
    Andrew Munger for White Pine Pictures,
    Stephen Paniccia for White Pine Pictures,
    Sam Sutherland for Shed Creative Agency,
    Lana Belle Mauro
Co-production
    Imagine Documentaries,
    Bell Media Inc.,
    Diamond Docs,
    Universal Music Canada,
    Shed Creative Agency
    Imagine Documentaries,
    Bell Media Inc.,
    Diamond Docs,
    Universal Music Canada,
    Shed Creative Agency
Executive producer
Cinematography
    Kiarash Sadigh
    Kiarash Sadigh
Animation
    Charlie Shetker
    Charlie Shetker
World Sales
    Magnolia Pictures International
    Magnolia Pictures International
Distribution for the Netherlands
    Periscoop Film
    Periscoop Film
Screening copy
    White Pine Pictures
    White Pine Pictures