We are delighted to be joined by the film’s director Lance Bangs who will take part in a Q&A following the screening.

The reputation of Louisville, Kentucky band Slint continues to grow almost a quarter of a century after the release of Spiderland, their 1991 album that spawned a thousand disciples. That the record has become so vitally influential is all the more impressive given the band had already split up before it came out, meaning that there was no tour or publicity to support a release already being almost completely ignored by the media. Instead, its success came slowly and purely, by traditional word of mouth, because of the power and originality of the music.

Each band member has since gone on to become an influential figure in their own right across the alt-rock scene, with Britt Walford, Brian McMahan and David Pajo playing in bands as varied as The Breeders, The For Carnation, Royal Trux, Tortoise, Stereolab, Zwan, Papa M, Palace Brothers, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. As well as contemporary interviews and recollections from Slint, Lance Bangs’ excellent documentary traces the development of the group, using amazing archive footage of its precursors, Squirrel Bait and Maurice, as well as of rehearsals of the nascent Spiderland tracks, to build up to the story of the recording and release of one of the finest albums of the last 30 years. (Notes by Kevin Coyne.)

You may also be interested in our Rock&Roll focus, the final of our three-month season dedicated to excess, presenting examples of how cinema has taken on sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll in Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.