Shut Up and Play the Piano

Thursday 18 October, Cinema 2, 6.15pm

 

Self-proclaimed musical genius Chilly Gonzales is charismatic, complicated, conflicted and bursting with talent in this invigorating documentary

 

In this multi-faceted portrait of a man with alter-egos on top of his ego’s ego, debut documentary director Philipp Jedicke matches Chilly Gonzales’ unhinged stage presence with a film of flamboyant artistic energy. From the source of Chilly’s competitive streak to his days flat-sharing with Peaches and Feist, through his transplantation to underground Berlin in the 1990s to raucous rap battles and performance art, and his later Parisian blossoming as a piano soloist to his recent shows with chamber orchestra. Chilly has documented it all, so Jedicke has a goldmine of archive material to play with. Fans will rejoice, but no prior knowledge is necessary to get a huge kick out of this sweat-drenched potpourri of persona and performance.