Waiting: The Van Duren Story 2018

6.0 / 10   1 vote(s)
Documentary Music

Born out of the ashes of Big Star, arguably the greatest cult band of all time, Memphis local Van Duren joined forces with ex-members Chris Bell & Jody Stephens to form a band and become regulars on the 70s Memphis bar circuit. In little time they got the attention of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who then started managing Van Duren. Van was tipped to be the next Paul McCartney but instead faded into obscurity. Forty years later, two friends from Australia (a band manager and musician) chance upon the mysterious musician’s lost album. They fall hopelessly in love with the music and set out to discover why Van Duren isn’t a household name.

Homepage https://www.waiting-vanduren.com/
Release Date 2018-11-30
Runtime 1h 19m
Directors Greg Carey, Wade Jackson
Producer
Writers Greg Carey, Wade Jackson, Jonathan Sequeira

It’s easy to draw comparisons between this film and ‘Searching for Sugar Man’, the foremost example of a documentary that detailed a quest to seek out a lesser-known musician. Maybe it’s the scrappiness of Carey and Jackson, the curiosity they exude during the interviews, their rapport with the musicians or their genuine concern for the artist, but ‘Waiting: The Van Duren Story’ is an interesting and unusually heartwarming feature documentary. - Jake Watt

Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-waiting-the-van-duren-story-a-crowd-pleasing-journey-of-rediscovery

Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/mdff for more Melbourne Documentary Film Festival reviews.

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