WILCO: Ashes of American Flags

Ashes of American Flags was produced and directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi’s Brendan Canty and shot in five quintessentially American venues: Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, OK; Tipitina’s in New Orleans, LA; The Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, AL; The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN; and the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Mixing live concert footage with band interviews, it takes the viewer behind the scenes of Wilco’s 2008 US tour capturing both the expansive experience of rolling across America in a tour bus and the intimacy that happens night after night between the members of Wilco and the music they make, and between the band and their fans who come to experience it with them. While playing at a number of film festivals, Ashes of American Flags was awarded the prize for Best Cinematography at the Big Sky Film Festival.

“It is really interesting to me how the experience of watching the live performances changes when the songs are given geographical, personal and historical contexts,” said Christoph Green. “ We wanted to make a tour film that would deepen and change the viewer’s relationship with the music.”

“Ashes was captured completely on the fly with a terrifying lack of planning, so everything you see in this film is real,” adds Brendan Canty. “The musicianship and their combined will to elevate each song to new heights every night is real. Their appreciation of one another is real, and at the core of the film is their increasingly brilliant body of songs. I can only hope the film conveys the feeling of utter joy, beauty and triumph I feel after I see them play.”

Shot in high definition, Ashes of American Flags is a Trixie production in association with Nonesuch Records and dBpm, Inc.

• Official Site
• Wilco on iTunes

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