It’s been a long while since we’ve posted to the Socalled blog, but we’re back. After more than 2 years of shooting and over 150 hours of footage, production has officially wrapped.

As director Garry Beitel sat down to start logging and digitizing this abundance of footage, I grabbed him for a quick interview. We talked about the project, Josh and a few legendary musicians they met up with along the way.

Read on…

Q: What attracted you to this project?

A: Josh Dolgin.

Josh was a student of mine in 1998 and we became buddies. We liked each other and stayed in touch after he graduated. We lost touch for a couple of years, but when I went to see a klezmer concert at Oscar Peterson at Concordia [University] I bumped into Josh, who was there with his parents. They were handing out fliers for a klezmer cruise in the Ukraine. Josh looked at me and said, “You should make a film about this.” I said, “Sure, let’s talk.” And we talked. And I thought, “What an interesting idea.”

He organized a tour from Kiev to Odessa with about 160 passengers signed up. There was this philosophical notion that I found interesting – that he was going to bring klezmer music back to where it came from. And he didn’t want it to be like what he called “Holocaust tourism,” where you go through Eastern Europe and you’re all sad and then you end up in Israel and get all happy. He wanted to do something that would make good connections between people.

I thought that was interesting, that there was a base for something there. We [my producer Barry Lazar and I] sent the proposal for that film off to [NFB producer] Ravida Din, who looked at it and said, “interesting… but I’d be more interested in a film about Josh. Think you can do that?”

Ravida had just seen the first film that Ben Steiger Levine had done on Josh [These are the Good Old Days]. It was part of the POP Montreal film series the NFB had done. So we decided to do something on Josh, and the klezmer cruise was part of the film’s development.

And that’s how the project began. And that was April 2007.

Q: What has shooting involved?

A: We went on the cruise with a film crew and we filmed for 12 days. We filmed with Josh beforehand: the hype of getting ready, preparing music, etc. And then we shot these 8 world-class klezmer musicians who played on the cruise. We shot Josh visiting his family archives in the Ukraine. We shot him in concert, in jam sessions, leading a choir, etc.

And that was all development.

Then we had to raise money for the film, it being a co-production between reFrame Films and the NFB. It took us almost another year to find the funding for it, and we shot all the while. We were all fairly confident the film would happen, but because we were filming over a long period of time, with a lot of travelling and editing, it took a bigger budget and therefore it took longer to raise the financing.

We officially went into production in September 2008. We’ve been shooting since then, and we shot our last day in June. We have over 150 hours of material.

Q: Once the original idea for the film was put aside, how did you decide on an approach?

A: Filming on this project has been built around events and also around the themes I was trying to explore. Themes such as his creative process. This is not a biography and it’s not a music film. I was inspired in my approach to this film by Francois Girard’s 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould.

The idea came to me that it would be interesting to create a series of short films around Josh. In the same spirit, I wanted each of those shorts to be a different film with a different aesthetic and a different perspective on his creative process. With each film, I wanted a sense of anticipation: What are we going to find out here? What are we going to see and hear that’s unique?

I ended up writing the final proposal for this film after the klezmer cruise. And that’s when the concept of how the film would be structured really materialized. For me, writing has always been productive. It’s a creative working out of ideas. When I was developing the proposal, it just started to fit. I didn’t want to do a biography. I didn’t want to make a music film.

And this format also works with what’s happening with new media as well. I had the material for a feature, but if I had the material for short films, the possibilities would be endless for the Internet. And Josh has a very strong Internet presence. Even as a marketing strategy, we thought maybe we could build to the feature film release by timing the release of short films in the weeks or months leading up to the release as a way of building anticipation for it.

Q: What’s it like working with Josh? Can you tell us a little bit about his personality and his work process?

A: Josh is prolific. He’s one of those incessant creators. He’s always creating something. That’s his life. He’s always playing with his sampler or taking pictures or learning a new magic trick or drawing cartoons and caricatures or developing a whole new repertoire of music or writing a film script or making a film.

Josh is constantly developing relationships with legendary older artists and musicians. He’s fascinated by older men who were in their prime years ago and that we’ve forgotten about. He brings them back to public awareness. There’s about half a dozen of these men that I’ve filmed him with.

For example, Irving Fields was a lounge singer in the 50s who was a household name. Josh discovered an old vinyl of his, called up the musician’s union in New York, found out he was still alive and kicking at 92 years old and playing 6 nights a week at a club in the city. Josh called him up, went to visit and developed a friendship with him. And then the two of them developed a theme song for YouTube.

And then there’s Fred Wesley, who used to be the trombonist and arranger for James Brown, Josh’s hero as a kid. He just looked him up. He had already been playing with David Krakauer, this master clarinettist who is known for his jazzy klezmer compositions. And now Josh tours with Wesley and Krakauer. The three of them put together this group called Abraham Inc. and we went to film them at the Apollo Theatre in New York. This little Jewish kid from Chelsea, Ontario is playing at the Apollo Theatre. And there are another four or five stories like that.

Q: It seems that his biggest fan base is in France. Why is that?

A: Josh has a huge fan base in France. It’s partly because he started playing with Krakauer in France and Krakauer has a huge following there. But Josh also has a good French promoter and a French label. The machinery is in place there that isn’t in place here. But it may also have something to do with the kind of music he plays that the French like. It’s world music with Jewish roots. He didn’t start out playing world music, but it’s evolved into that.

Q: Over two years, you must have seen more than an evolution in his music. Has Josh evolved as an artist as well?

A: Over 2 years of filming, we’ve captured a shift in his confidence and his bravado. He’s more cynical, but he’s also more sure of himself.

He hasn’t become a star, but he’s coming into his own. There’s a maturing there. He was completely open and naïve in the beginning, answering everything we asked him. Now he just says, “I don’t have to answer that question.” There’s a sense of “I don’t have to talk about that.” That’s a type of maturing that I’ve watched progress.

In terms of his music, we have captured the change in his style. When I started filming, he was a hip hop klezmer musician. He was the cool klezmer musician on the edges of klezmer. Even though he had a somewhat secular upbringing, he connected to the klezmer music. But it was somewhat parochial, for him and for others as well. He wanted to hold on to it, but still step out and make music that was more universal.

Klezmer allowed him to break out into different styles of music but still hold on to his roots. It distinguished him. He didn’t want to be only a Jewish musician, but he liked the idea of taking Hassidic and cantorial music, mixing them into his songs and bringing these new “beats” into the mainstream. At a Socalled concert, there are always a number of songs that are either in Yiddish or otherwise fall into the tradition of Jewish music. That’s what makes him original, and he carries it with him.

Q: How did making this film differ from past projects you’ve worked on?

A: I’ve never followed a single person for this long and that has own challenges. I’ve made films about individuals, but over a much more limited period of time. It was a challenge. I’m turning 60 this year and Josh is 32, and this film forced me to step into a very different culture. I’ve made films about other cultures before, but this was a challenge in that I’m not a musician and everything was very new to me.

Q: But you’ve already said this was not a music film…

A: No. This is not a music film. This is the type of film that can reach a very wide audience. Josh touches so many bases in what he does – music, magic, singing, writing, etc. For people who are interested in one aspect of what he does, this is a great way to introduce them to other ideas and aspects of his life.

Check it out, the Socalled Movie trailer on youtube. This is just from what has been shot so far, there is still a lot of production left to do. This is the beginning, let’s get this movie making happening.

It’s been a little break for us in the production, but we came back together in full force for this year’s Pop Montreal music festival. Socalled made Montreal history with funk legend Fred Wesley the trombonist and arranger of the JBs, James Brown’s band. Seriously, this man, oozed funk from his pores, and the two of them were magic on stage. They kicked off a late Saturday night, and this “House Party” was bouncing. We filmed the sound check and set up with Josh et al. and then made a quick pit stop to put Fred W. on the hot seat about Socalled. Someone that he said is teaching him a thing or two. Even though when he first met him, thought he was “the kid who cleaned up the studio”.

Here’s a brief peek into the evening, with “House Party”.

So it’s been a while since we have updated on the blog, as we are in that time between development and production. Now, after the intense time in Ukraine, and the perhaps more calm, but critical time back in Montreal, the shooting schedule has been more relaxed. Not to say that it’s been all vacation time, and sipping ice tea on the terraces of St-Laurent Blvd. Editing away, reflecting on the material that has been shot, Garry has been busy at work in his studio. Here are some morsels from the editing table, again from past shoots.

Here are couple more clips of Josh and and his collaborators. Only these guys, D-Shade (from Shades of Culture) and Rodney, are local Montreal musicians. In these clips they are mapping out the songs of Josh’s that they are going to perform at the St-Viateur street party.

Enjoy… we’ll be back after some more reflecting (and editing)….!

Well, we can’t spend all our time jet setting around the world behind Josh, and its good to film what’s going on at home in Montreal as well. The summer is kicking off in festival season, and the Mile End was a buzz to see their neighbour Socalled perform with other local musicians. Garry and the crew filmed with Josh before the performance. Here is a taste from the front row of the show.

When we arrived in Odessa’s port, one of the first things we headed to was the infamous steps of Potempkin. Pictures were taken, baby carriage shots were laughed about, and then everyone began to shuffle off to discover Odessa. Hanging behind, we, the film crew and Josh aka. Socalled met an incredible woman. She speaks Russian, Greek, French, and Yiddish fluently, but scraping by selling painted eggs to tourists. Still vibrant and cheerful, and speaking french to us, she also gives us tips on avoiding potential pick-pocketers.

And, in the spirit of mulit-lingualism, Josh did an interview with Radio Canada today.

This is a short moment between Josh and one of the great klezmer singers of eastern Europe, Arkady Gendler. Josh is planning to write a song about the experience on the Dnieper Princess Klezmer Cruise with him, and also a preparing for an interview they will have for the passengers. With yiddish translation from Garry Beitel, the director, you can see that they share a connection through their passion for music. And, meanwhile, we are still shooting our short film where David Krakauer is a drunk sailor (who is handy with a clarinet).

To back track a few weeks (feels like years now!), when we met up with Josh in his apartment days before we left on the Klezmer Cruise, we soon found out we weren’t the only one interested in interviewing Josh. The local free Montreal magazine, Nightlife Magazine also shared the tiny space with us. A little shocked at being greeted by a film crew, reporter Olivier Lalande soon got to business. You can now pick up the interview in the magazine or see if online here.

After a harrowing 30 hour journey from Odessa to Kiev, to Frankfurt, to Toronto, and then crawling off the plane in Montreal, we all went home to our families to reflect, and decompress from the 2 week shoot.

I am back at the NFB, on stable ground, in my office on Cote de Liesse Road in Montreal, without an ounce of former sovietness around me, and not a perogie in sight. It is all very weird, but part and parcel when returning from an intense location shoot.

Garry and Barry are currently getting the material digitized to go through the rushes, and make head and tail of the material that was shot. Also, as Josh is always on the move, and headed to Banff to work on another project, Garry caught up with him before leaving on his trip.

Once we digest everything, now it’s planning the next stages of where we are going with the film. A wild ride, no doubt.

Here’s a short video from the middle of the trip, asking Josh what he thinks the young Ukrainian staff on the cruise thinks of all this klezmer music.

Also, for more fun, Bob Cohen, musician and writer on the cruise also has blogged about the trip, where you can see more videos, beautiful pictures, and commentary.

Click To Play

So this wild ride is nearing the end - after a great concert in Odessa, the musicians, with the local musicians as well, came back to the boat - and started up another raucous party in the lounge. Everyone blowing off a lot of steam, relaxing, and celebrating a crazy 12 days. We have travelled down the Dnieper river, through Ukraine from Kiev to Odessa - with many memories and experiences along the way. Josh, the organizer, musician, and documentary film subject has been racing around, getting together concerts, jamming, and teaching a choir, also found the time to plan and shoot a short film of his own - here is a short clip of part of that experience. It has been a interesting experience for us the crew, taking in the culture, following Josh on this journey, and trying to suss it out in our heads how this will all work out.

It has been a great time - tonight is the final night - captain’s dinner, the choir shows their stuff, and more dancing and music to be played and sung. We then get onto a bus to Kiev at 5am, a plane to Frankfurt, via Toronto to Montreal. It’s going to be a long last haul - I am just wondering if when I get home, I am going to miss the rocking of the boat, and obviously, my floating musical film journey.

More later - after the jet lag has worn off.