Nick Cave is many things – a songwriter, a screenwriter, a world-class performer, a supreme vocalist – but first and foremost, Nick Cave is a storyteller. His impact on pop culture as a musician is unquestionable and now there is a season of films in Light House, Dublin and Pálás Galway, which highlights his contribution to the world of film. From his screenplays to his scores with fellow Bad Seed Warren Ellis and his incredibly open and insightful documentaries, Element has put together a small selection of films that illustrates their unique visions.
All have received the blessing of Nick Cave and his formidable collaborator, Warren Ellis’ who will be in Dublin on Wednesday June 6th, with The Bad Seeds to play a sold at show at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, their first show in Ireland for over 10 years, supported by Patti Smith.
Quite by accident scoring films became the backbone of my creative output. Since The Proposition they have mapped Nick’s and my creative collaboration. It’s wonderful there is a season of them.
Warren Ellis
I am immensely proud of my involvement in all of these films and am very happy that they are being show as a “Season” at The Light House in Dublin.
Nick Cave
Lawless
Friday, June 1st, 10:30pm
Nick Cave wrote the screenplay to this adaptation of Matt Bondurant’s The Wettest County in the World, a true story about the authors’ ancestors, a family of moonshine bootleggers in Virginia in the 1920s. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis also composed and performed the score and collaborated on songs with Ralph Stanley, Mark Lanegan, Emmylou Harris and others to create a vivid, violent portrayal of a family of complicated men during prohibition-era America.
20,000 Days on Earth
Saturday, June 2nd , 3:30pm
Visual artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard co-wrote and directed this hugely ambitious, award winning feature film fusing drama and documentary detailing the 20,000th day in Cave’s life. The film’s ambitious concept provides some insight into the creative process and the fascinating mind of one of the world’s greatest songwriters while also highlighting the drive and discipline it takes to be a fearless creative of Nick Cave’s calibre.
One More Time With Feeling
Saturday, June 2, 6:00pm
Director Andrew Dominick explores creativity, comradery and the recording process with his friend Nick Cave as he and The Bad Seeds record their album The Skeleton Tree in the aftermath of huge personal tragedy. Deeply intelligent, extremely moving and beautifully shot in black & white, Dominick has crafted one of the most stunning, immersive music films ever made, and one which is best experienced on the big screen.
The Proposition
Sunday June 3, 2018, 8:30pm
Just when the western genre seemed to have trailed off as a relic of old Hollywood, John Hillcoat’s film of Nick Cave’s screenplay for The Proposition gave audiences something completely fresh. A savage, sun-scorched western set in the Australian outback, this unforgiving, yet incredibly beautiful example of the genre rejects nostalgia and instead gives audiences a socially fascinating and unapologetically brutal story of brotherhood and revenge heightened by the gorgeous iconic score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. An absolute classic.
The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Monday June 4, 8pm
Andrew Dominick’s take on the mythic story of the assassination of outlaw Jesse James, one of America’s most iconic historical figures, is a masterpiece for a number of reasons – the sharp, intelligent central performance from Brad Pitt as Jesse James, Casey Affleck’s haunting turn as the repulsive but vulnerable Robert Ford, the insightful take on celebrity culture, the unparalleled cinematography by Roger Deakins, and of course the absolutely profound score created by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. Don’t miss an opportunity to experience this modern masterpiece on the big screen.
Wind River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN9PDOoLAfg
Tuesday June 5, 6:30pm
The film collaborations of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are so often associated with the western genre, it is a fine aural treat to hear them score Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River, a murder mystery set in a Native American reservation. The film’s snowy, oppressive landscape suggests latent horrors which are easily hidden and the film’s score heightens the haunting sense of tragedy that drives the story to its moving conclusion.
Hell Or High Water
Wednesday June 6, 6:30pm
One of the best films of the past few years, this slick modern western from British director David Mackenzie, looks at the reality of what it means to be an outlaw in the modern world and what drives people to do so. An energetic snapshot of a very particular niche of rural America, Hell Or High Water is honest and heartfelt with a dusty, intense soundtrack from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis which knows when to make your heart pound and when to let silence speak for itself.
Nick Cave will also hold his first ‘So, What Do You Want To Know?’ – Conversations With Nick Cave event outside of the USA at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin on June 5th. Last week, he appeared for a short run of evenings of open discussion with audiences in the United States. The idea was inspired by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ 2017 world tour and Cave’s evolving relationship with his audience.
Tickets for the screenings at Light House Cinema
Tickets for the screenings at Pálás