PLAY THIS AT MY FUNERAL

Music is the backbone of this vivid New York triptych, strumming chords and belting out a visual tune about how music mashes together the communities we inhabit and the diverse assortment of personalities and tastes that pepper our lives; an extroverted Times Square Spiderman, an African American pair having a heavy metal dance flirtation, and a Spanish speaking father who bops along to the profane lyrics of a rap song he doesn’t understand. For those lucky enough to visit or live in New York, we know how the chaotic sights, sounds, events, and people who populate the Big Apple mysteriously align to provide moments of transcendence, joy and happiness. This film ingeniously mixes documentary footage with staged scenes that give the whole film a sense of cannonballing into real lives. Beautifully imagined and beautifully imaged, PLAY THIS AT MY FUNERAL reminds us that music makes us move. Start spreading the news. — Vincent DeLuca, Programmer