❉ Years-in-the-making, director Alex Winter’s film explores Zappa’s prolific career and his extraordinary personal and political life.
“Ultimately, ZAPPA is not a retro trip into the past, but a thoroughly modern exploration of a man whose worldview, art and politics were far ahead of their time, and profoundly relevant in our challenging times.” – Director/producer Alex Winter.
Altitude announces the release of Alex Winter’s highly-anticipated and compelling documentary on the life and career of the extraordinary ZAPPA, available to watch in the UK and Ireland NOW on Altitude.film.
With unfettered access to the Zappa Vault, and archival footage contained within, ZAPPA explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Director Alex Winter’s film features appearances by those who knew him best including Frank’s widow Gail Zappa and many of Frank’s musical collaborators; Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood and Ray White.
Years-in-the-making, ZAPPA is the first all-access documentary about the legendary icon and conveys the scope of his prodigious and varied creative output and the breadth of his extraordinary personal and political life. Director/producer Alex Winter and producer Glen Zipper were granted exclusive access by Gail Zappa to a vast collection of his unreleased music, movies, incomplete projects, unseen interviews and unheard concert recordings, much of which was deteriorating and in danger of being lost forever. Following a two year mission to preserve and archive the vault materials, they assembled ZAPPA with this wealth of never-before-seen footage and the addition of present-day interviews, building a narrative both intimate and epic in scope.
Alex Winter says about ZAPPA: “Frank Zappa was not only a creative genius, but also a great and eloquent thinker who articulated the madness of his times with extraordinary clarity and wit. A legitimate maverick who lived and worked amongst other extraordinary people in historic times. Ultimately, ZAPPA is not a retro trip into the past, but a thoroughly modern exploration of a man whose worldview, art and politics were far ahead of their time, and profoundly relevant in our challenging times.”
The Kickstarter campaign for this project was the highest funded documentary in crowdfunding history. ZAPPA was released on November 27 from Magnolia Pictures to widespread critical acclaim. A Critics Pick in the New York Times, Zappa was nominated for Best Music Documentary by the Critics Choice Awards.
Alex Winter is a director, writer and actor who has worked across film, television and theater. Entering show business as a child actor, with co-starring roles on Broadway in The King & I and Peter Pan, Winter came to prominence in movies such as Warner Bros’ hit The Lost Boys and the wildly popular Bill & Ted franchise. As a filmmaker, Winter’s narrative features include the cult classic Freaked, for 20th Century Fox and Fever, for Lionsgate, an official selection in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
Winter founded Trouper Productions in 2006 and has released several documentaries under that banner. Previous documentary work includes Deep Web, Downloaded, The Panama Papers and Trust Machine: The Story Of Blockchain. Winter’s most recent doc, Showbiz Kids produced by frequent collaborator Glen Zipper and Bill Simmons’ Ringer Films, premiered in July, 2020. The highly anticipated third installment in the Bill & Ted franchise, Bill & Ted Face The Music, is available now.
❉ Watch ZAPPA now on Altitude.Film
❉ To listen to the ZAPPA soundtrack on Spotify click HERE
❉ News source: Zoe Flower Publicity/Altitude Media Group.
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