Part of First Look 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014, 7:00 p.m.

With director Caroline Martel in person, and a live musical performance by Geneviève Grenier

Canada. Dir. Caroline Martel. 2012, 96 mins. New York premiere. DCP courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada. With Suzanne Binet-Audet, Jonny Greenwood, Jean-Louis Martenot, Jean Laurendeau. One of the most compelling music documentaries in years, Wavemakers delves deeply into the history and legacy of an electronic instrument with a haunting, ethereal sound. Invented in 1928, the Ondes Martenot is so sensitive and expressive that musicians, artisans, and scientists are still trying to unravel its secrets. Integrating vérité scenes, rare archival material, and an entrancing soundtrack, the film draws us into the spell of the Martenot. The instrument has been featured in films by Abel Gance and Fritz Lang, and such recent films as There Will Be Blood, with a score by composer and Radiohead band member Jonny Greenwood, who is among the contemporary practitioners who appear in Wavemakers, along with Suzanne Binet-Audet, the “Jimi Hendrix of the Martenot.” Wavemakers takes us on a journey to the very essence of music and to the deeper cosmic mysteries that the Martenot evokes. The screening will be followed by a live performance on the Ondes Martenot by Geneviève Grenier. The film had its international premiere at Rotterdam International Film Festival. Winner of the Golden Athena Award, Music & Film, Athens International Film Festival.

Tickets: $10 / $6 Museum members / free for Silver Screen members and above. Order online or call 718 777 6800 to reserve tickets. A First Look series pass, allowing the holder admission to the Museum and all First Look screenings for the run of the series, is available for $40 / $24 Museum members / free for Silver Screen members and above. For more information about becoming a member, please click here.

Made possible with support from the General Delegation of Quebec in New York.