Film FESTiValS: ShapiNg Film hiSTOry pagE - 12 -13 ThE muSiC FESTiVal dOCumENTary pagE - 14

Just like how other documentaries can give voices to the underrepresented, Summer of Soul has given the Harlem Cultural Festival the attention it frankly rightfully deserves, through unveiling archive footage that has stayed buried until now.

The Fyre Festival documentaries

Perhaps the most notable music festival that was given the documentary treatment in recent years was the infamous Fyre Festival (which then begs the question if it could really be counted as a music festival). Fyre Festival was covered by not one, but two streaming services in this documentary format – Netflix and Hulu released separate Fyre documentaries within mere days of each other, likely capitalising off the controversy that arose at the time.

However, no two documentaries are made the same. Both films decidedly took different directions and perspectives on the ‘Fyre controversy’, interviewing and spotlighting opposing parties involved in the situation. As such, audiences are treated to a more well-rounded take on Fyre Festival and its downfall. Though the Fyre Festival never actually happened, these documentaries bring another approach to the music festival documentary. They were essentially cinematically shot video alternatives to to a hypothetical investigative journalism piece.

Every music festival has a story to tell, and music festival documentaries are a subgenre of the documentary film that have risen to tell these stories, to define the ‘music festival’ with more depth and through a digestible medium.

The popularity and demand for these films do not seem to be dying down anytime soon, which makes it all the more intriguing as to which festival will be covered next.

words by: Pui Kuan Cheah design by: Rahima Bhatti

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