This Friday at the Brunswick Picture House features Doni Raven, a haunting silent film, backed by a live performance of original compositions featuring The Doni Raven Band.
From the misty mountaintops to a darkened canopy floor, you come to a burning fire; from there, you will stare deep within to find the wings of the raven revealed, along with a message: ‘Time to set your wrongs to right’.
The Raven takes on a persona of its own, taking control of your life and laying down one man’s journey – all through silent film and live music.
The film is presented alongside uniquely original compositions of love and loss, good and evil, backed by raw acoustics, edgy electrics and engaging vocals. Singer/songwriter Doni Raven delivers his live performance with raw masculine energy and intensely honest lyrics that cut deep into the heart of the listener.
The Echo spoke with Doni about his latest creative endeavour.
Tell me about the silent film. How did you make it?
Most of the film has been shot with hand-held cameras, filming wildlife and local scenery. I’m also fortunate to have a filmmaking friend who let me use some of his own footage. It’s an eclectic collage of imagery with an arthouse flavour.
What is the feel that you went for in the film?
It’s quite dark looking, produced in black and white, with gothic themes using time-lapse shots and haunting settings interlaced with still photography and vintage stock footage.
What is the concept for the night at the Picture House? Why did you want to include film with your music?
My aim was to bring various artforms together and create something very original; an evening of live entertainment that is purely focused on the arts. I’m really excited about being able to help promote local artist Sam Dennis, who makes bizarre, quirky sculptures and contemporary furniture from natural materials including wood and bones, It seemed to tie in very well with my theme. The whole reason behind wanting to have film backing my music was to give people a more theatrical experience and so they can get to know ‘Who is Doni Raven?’.
How did you compose music scored to the film?
Well this is a first for me, both as a novice filmmaker and taking on the challenge of choreographing film to live music. I already had all my music pre-production recordings that I used to help synchronise the footage together, so it was like putting together one long music video.
Tell me about the band.
The band consists of five members. We all hail from different genres, backgrounds and even countries. On drums, Ben Keogh (Son of a Drum), Edward Kent on lead guitar, Russell Kereama on bass guitar, Fiona Dell on keyboard and backing vocals and myself, Doni Raven, on guitar and lead vocals.
Why do you think film and music interact so well? Do you feel that the combination creates otherworldly narratives?
I think that music and film have very profound effects on all of us. I can still vividly remember movies I watched as a child just by the simple trigger of a song or even a musical phrase. Music in film depicts the emotions happening on the screen; it enhances the love scenes, frightens us in horror films and uplifts us in the moments of clarity summing up a story’s meaning.
What should we expect for the night at the Brunswick Picture House?
A night embracing the arts, where all things visually pleasing are served with good music, beautiful people and a nice atmosphere to relax and sip champagne in.
Special guest local visual artist Sam Dennis will also be displaying his latest works in the Brunswick Picture House garden.
Brunswick Picture House, Friday at 7pm.
Adult $18 Concession $15. Tickets available at www.brunwickpicturehouse.com.au or www.trybooking.com.
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