We are very excited to welcome New Mexico's roving folk duo A Hawk and A Hacksaw (accordionist/drummer Jeremy Barnes and violinist Heather Trost) to Watershed this weekend. They are here to present a brand new live rescore of Soviet director Sergei Paradjanov's classic film Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors.

Their own distinctive musical style draws on the traditions of Eastern European folk music, perfectly capturing the mood of this intense epic. Set in the Carpathian mountains, the film tells the age old tale of a peasant's love and loss in a pre-industrial age where magic and ritual are as much a part of existence as back-breaking work and violent family feuds.

Jeremy Barnes of A Hawk And A Hacksaw said:

'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is one of my favourite films, and it had been in my head to do a live soundtrack with it for a long time. It is not a silent film, it has some wonderful music, and so we are sort of collaborating and commenting on the existing soundtrack. The film was made in 1964, and is based on a Ukrainian folk tale - because it is a folk tale, the Soviet censors allowed Paradjanov to have free reign - and therefore there's quite a bit of psychedelic visuals and freaky moments.'

Mark Cosgrove, Watershed's Head of progamme said:

'This is the perfect event for Watershed's growing film and music strand - both the band and the film are outstanding and I'm delighted to welcome them to Bristol.'

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is the first major work by the legendary Russian filmmaker Sergei Parajadnov. Hailed as a genius by the likes of Fellini, Antonioni and Tarkovsky, his films are allegorical and mysterious, with small movements within his almost static frames. Paradjanov's visionary and poetic output was regarded as subversive by the Soviets - he was frequently banned from filmmaking and imprisoned. Last year saw a major retrospective of the director's films at the BFI Southbank and Bristol's Arnolfini.
This event is presented in collaboration with Qu Junktions.

FFI: ahawkandahacksaw.net; myspace.com/ahawkandahacksaw; Artificial Eye.

Fee: £10.00 full / £8.00 concessions. Get your tickets here.

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