POP Montreal goes to the movies

Mile End’s beloved Cinéma Moderne returns as the host venue for Film POP this week. Each year, POP Montreal rounds up a batch of exciting screenings for the film subdivision of its festival, each picture bearing strong ties to music, be it in its subject matter or with some musical minds working behind the scenes.

Here are some of our top picks for Film POP 2019:

I Am Chris Farley director Brent Hodge returns with a new film that answers one of the 2000s top philosophical questions: Who Let the Dogs Out?

“I’ve been researching ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ for about eight years or 20 per cent of my adult life,” explains the documentary’s lead, Ben Sisto, in its trailer. Though one of the biggest hits of this millennium, the song’s writing and copyright history have remained vague and complicated, until now. If you are as big a Baha-head as Mitt Romney, this is the film for you. Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6:30 p.m.

As the 2010s come to a close, it’s hard to assemble a “Best of the Decade” album list without including D’Angelo’s Black Messiah. It’s just as hard to talk about said album without acknowledging the near-15-year gap between it and its predecessor, Voodoo. Named after the standout DJ Premier-produced track on Voodoo, Devil’s Pie: D’Angelo explores the troubled R&B genius. This Film POP screening is the Canadian debut of the Carine Bijlsma documentary following its international premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. Saturday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m.

From the MUTEK festival to a plethora of afterhours venues, Montreal’s long-standing love for techno is well-known. It should come as no surprise that this year’s Film POP programming features not one but two documentaries surrounding the movement:

Second Summer of Love is a series of films in collaboration with Frieze and Gucci exploring the late 1980s explosion of rave culture. The double-billed Black to Techno and Everybody in the Place focus on the origins of Detroit techno and the dangerous impact of drugs throughout the period, respectively. Sunday, Sept. 29, 3 p.m.

Would it truly be a Film POP without a couple of throwbacks? This year, the festival takes us back to both 1979 for a 40th anniversary screening of Joe Dante’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School and to 1990 for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize-winning The Juniper Tree, otherwise known as Björk’s big-screen debut. Friday, Sept. 27, 9 p.m., and Saturday, 7:15 p.m., respectively. ■

See the complete Film POP program here.