Amplified Gesture

Director: Phil Hopkins
Length: 55 minutes

"Amplified Gesture" is an original introduction to the genre of free improvisation, its leading lights and its philosophy. This documentary film was produced specifically to accompany the release of David Sylvian's album "Manafon", and features contributions from various improvisers who also participated on Sylvian's album. There is an absolute deluxe cast, including the most renowned figures on the international improvisation scene, such as Otomo Yoshihide, Toshimaru Nakamura, Christian Fennesz, Keith Rowe, Eddie Prévost, Sachiko M., Evan Parker, John Tilbury, Werner Dafeldecker, Michael Moser and John Butcher.

Finisterrae

Director: Sergio Caballero
Length: 80 minutes

“Finisterrae” isn't a conventional film. The idea of the film in itself is unheard of, with a philosophy that starts off in the first place from the filming and the capture of images to elaborating the script and adding the dialogue later. This process has allowed the classic structure of a 'road movie' to be experimented and has been developed with the freedom of not having to give itself up to a tight script. The rest is enigmatic and singular cinema, impregnated with a very particular atmosphere, full of unusually beautiful imagery and a sense of humour both ironic and surreal.

“Finisterrae” tells the story of two ghosts who, tired of wandering through limbo, decide to take the Way of Saint James, to the end of the world (Finisterra) so that once there, they may begin a fleeting, earthly journey through the land of the living. An introspective journey through uninhabited lands in which they are to find themselves with strange beings, wild animals and characters never before heard of. They must confront unexpected situations, battle with their own fears and struggle with the obstacles of their own phantasmagoric condition.

Sónar around the world

Directors: Josep Maria Salat & Jofre Font
Length: 65 minutes

Taking Sonarsound in Buenos Aires as its starting point, and then moving on to the previous year's Sónar in Barcelona, plus the Sonarsounds in Hamburg and the festival's double Asian adventure (Tokyo and Seoul), this documentary produced by Televisió de Catalunya gives a detailed overview of the various Sónar experiences that took place around the world in 2006. The film analyses the phenomenon that Sónar has become over a decade after it was born, as well as taking a closer look at those involved in various scenes and different cultural contexts, united by a shared passion for advanced music and the event's innovative spirit.

Synth Britannia

Director: Ben Whalley
Length: 90 minutes

This excellent BBC-produced documentary looks at the life and work of entire generation of musicians who in the wake of the explosion of punk, decided to consider synthesisers in a radically different way, and at one stroke destroyed any experimental association and placed synth music at the centre of the British pop stage. Using Kraftwerk and JG Ballard as the main sources of inspiration for the new sonic utopia, these artists led the musical revolution of the late 70s that gave the next decade - the 1980s - its own characteristic electronic sound. Based on testimony from the main characters involved, Ben Whalley's film joins the dots between the various phases of this cultural phenomenon: from the Human League to the Pet Shop Boys, taking in Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller, Soft Cell and Ultravox.

Cornelius "Sensuous Synchronized Show"

Director: Yoichi Sato
Length: 100 minutes

For the Japanese musician Cornelius, the visual aspect is inseparable from his music. In his acclaimed concerts, images are perfectly synchronised with his tight and evocative melodies, creating a hypnotic effect among the audience and taking the experience of a show a step beyond the normal. This documentary of aesthetic beauty shows one of these shows from various different points of view, performed in his home town of Tokyo, by means of footage that captures and shows all the energy and abiity to charm of the Japanese artist's work.