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Special Presentation
Canadian Features
Susanne Tabata, Canada, 2010, 75 minutes
Long before condominium developments and mortgage payments became the favoured topic of conversation in Vancouver, the city was a far different place. In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when the Smilin’ Buddha still glowed beneficently on East Hastings, cops were on the pad, and the Squamish Five were taking direct action with dynamite in the name of anarchy and social change, punk music had reared its ragged rancid head and let forth a rebel howl.
Director Susanne Tabata returns to her roots with Bloodied But Unbowed, the first in-depth chronicle of Vancouver’s original punk scene. Distinct from London, New York and L.A., Vancouver punk was eclectic, raw, politically charged, relentless and at times comedic. Leather, spit, beer, drugs, sex and a righteously enraged music terrified the mainstream. Bands like DOA, Subhumans, Young Canadians, Pointed Sticks, Modernettes, UJ3RK5 and the Dishrags, helped forge the city’s reputation as an alternative mecca, attracting and influencing the likes of Kurt Cobain, former Guns ‘N Roses’ bassist Duff McKagan and the hardcore king of all media, Henry Rollins.
Bloodied But Unbowed is packed with short stories from the city’s raw coming of age, from the great lost poet of punk, Art Bergmann, to DOA’s yippie-influenced Destroy Canada Day concert in Stanley Park, to the hybrid of punk rock, modern art and gay culture, to the essence of Fuck Bands. There are also undercurrents brought to light in the film. Personal stories of love and loss, rebellion and regret, told through romance and political action.
Bloodied But Unbowed captures the raw essence of a time and place, and the kids who barely lived through it, as well as those who did not. Drugs wreaked havoc in the punk scene, snuffing short the lives of some of the scene’s luminaries. But despite the harsh toll, many of Vancouver’s most infamous sons (to wit: Joe Shithead and eternal bad boy Randy Rampage) are still on the road, playing gigs, pissing on squares and generally causing an uproar.
If you miss this film, you better be dead or in jail, and if you’re in jail, break out!
world premiere
Filmmaker and guests in attendance
Director’s biography
On the heels of SkateGirl and 49Degrees, Susanne Tabata returns with her first documentary feature, Bloodied But Unbowed, profiling the early punk scene in Vancouver as told by the surviving legends who made it happen. Tabata has developed and produced many educational programs for young audiences in areas of social justice. Credited as a producer on Jason Priestley’s Barenaked in America, Tabata is a digital media producer and small format production specialist. Susanne broke out as a director with the documentary on the subculture of Canadian surfing, 49Degrees. FUELTV Los Angeles picked up the doc, inviting Tabata to enter a filmmaking contest and she was one of 10 directors chosen from 250+ to make a film. The film SkateGirl (FoxFUEL) is a history of women’s professional skateboarding.
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Major Partner
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