Castlemaine Documentary Festival brings a landmark of experimental cinema to the Capitol Theatre, Melbourne.
After selling out Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal last year, Man With a Movie Camera arrives in Melbourne this March with Underground Lovers performing a live score at the Capitol Theatre.
Originally commissioned by the Castlemaine Documentary Festival, the event now comes to Melbourne for two performances, presented in collaboration with RMIT University.
Castlemaine Documentary Festival – Man With a Movie Camera
- When: Saturday, 14 March — sessions at 5:30pm and 7:30pm
- Where: Capitol Theatre, Melbourne
- Tickets: here
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Directed by Vertov in 1929, Man With a Movie Camera is a landmark of experimental cinema; a radical, wordless portrait of Soviet urban life. Capturing a city in constant motion, the film cuts through factories, streets and daily rhythms in a rapid, propulsive montage that still feels strikingly modern nearly a century on.
Underground Lovers perform the specially commissioned score in their electronic line-up, matching the film’s momentum in real time. Built from analogue synthesisers, repeating loops and post-punk energy, the music mirrors the film’s pulse, turning what could be a straightforward screening into something far more electric and alive.
Sitting somewhere between cinema and concert, this is the kind of event that reminds you why live performance and film were always meant to intersect. Vertov’s vision was never meant to be passive viewing; it was designed to jolt, provoke and energise. Pairing it with a live electronic score only sharpens that edge, making the century-old footage feel urgent and immediate in a way that a standard screening simply can’t replicate.
Given the sold-out Castlemaine premiere, getting in early is a good idea. Two sessions are on offer, so there’s flexibility, but don’t sit on it.
For more information, head here.
