Man with a Movie Camera + Live Score by Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca

Friday 4th of July 8:00pm

DZIGA VERTOV | RUSSIA | 1929 | 64'

A CASTLEMAINE DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENT.

No actors, no script — just the rhythm of life.

Dziga Vertov’s playful 1929 Soviet silent documentary Man With a Movie Camera revolutionised cinema with dazzling never before seen techniques and playful energy. Filmed by his brother Mikhail Kaufman and edited by his wife Yelizaveta Svilova, this avant-garde masterpiece captures a day in Soviet cities across six parts, from dawn to evening.

Originally a medical student named Denis Kaufman, Vertov adopted the name (meaning “spinning top”) in 1918, reflecting both his kinetic aesthetic and the revolutionary turbulence that shaped his artistic vision. His transformation was inseparable from the upheaval of post-revolutionary Russia — where even access to filmmaking materials was restricted by Western blockades.

Over the decades, the film has inspired more than twenty different soundtracks, including Michael Nyman’s 2002 version. In 2025, exclusively for the Castlemaine Documentary Festival, the Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca will perform live accompaniment responding to the film’s visual rhythms, tempo shifts, and bold structural patterns.

Despite its exuberant style and radical innovation, Man With a Movie Camera was condemned by Stalin’s regime and quietly vanished from Soviet theatres after a brief run.

Vertov’s influence has only grown over time. In 2014, the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound poll named it the greatest documentary of all time — and it remains widely regarded as one of the ten best films ever made. Tragically, these accolades came too late to alter the course of Vertov’s life or career during his time.

UNDERGROUND LOVERS MODA DISCOTECA

Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca is the electronic offshoot of legendary Australian band Underground Lovers, created by Vincent Giarrusso and Glenn Bennie in collaboration with Mat Watson (Free Fields, Other Places, Taipan Tiger Girls), Matt Sigley (The Earthmen, Lovetones), and Maurice Argiro (Underground Lovers). With a shared history of live performance, the group brings a cinematic sensibility and an experimental edge to their sound.

Described by Backseat Mafia as “mesmerising and cinematic” with “melodic strength and a willingness to experiment,” Underground Lovers Moda Discoteca now turns its attention to Dziga Vertov’s revolutionary 1929 silent film Man With a Movie Camera.

For this special Castlemaine Documentary Festival commission, the ensemble has created a new, original score through a collaborative and improvisational process. Rather than a traditional, tightly timed soundtrack, their approach draws from contemporary film scoring ideas — responding to the film’s visual rhythms, structural shifts, and emotional arcs in real time. Vincent Giarrusso, a filmmaker and screen media lecturer with deep familiarity with the film, has led the creative process with sensitivity to Vertov’s original vision. Each scene is treated as a narrative moment, with the music enhancing the viewer’s emotional and sensory experience. The result is a dynamic, immersive event that brings fresh energy to a silent cinema classic: blending past and present through sound, image, and spontaneous performance.