North by Northeast (NXNE) is three events in one:
• Canada’s #1 showcase for new independent music, where fans can catch great
local and international performers at intimate venues
• A film festival where music is the star, with music-related features,
documentaries, and shorts
• An industry conference featuring celebrity interviews as well as panels and
information exchanges for artists and music-biz professionals
North by Northeast XIV takes over downtown Toronto June 12-15, 2008. For four
days and nights on the cusp of summer, NXNE will entertain close to 100,000
people. The Music Festival will showcase over 500 performers on stages at 40 of
the city’s coolest clubs. The Film Festival will screen the year’s best
music-related cinema. And the Conference will bring music celebs to Toronto for
in-depth interview sessions (yes, you can attend!) and host discussions in which
the future of the music business reveals itself.
During the festival, Toronto throws open its heart and its beer fridges to fans
from around the world. Bars serve booze till 4 am nightly (yes, four), so those
with the stamina—or the right pharmaceutical cocktails—can stay fully lubricated
in a crazed quest to get maximum blast from this explosive event.
Music is the star: Just like other world-famous film festivals, the NXNE Film
Festival scoops world premieres and lures cool film folks to town. The
differences? Here, there’s no ticketing hassles, no price-gouging, no
pretentious speeches, no red carpet bullshit, and no Hollywood celebs preening
for the paparazzi. At NXNE films, music is always the star.
History
North by Northeast first rolled out in 1995, conceived as a sister festival to
the South by Southwest Festival & Conference in Austin, Texas. Since then, NXNE
has grown each year, with last year’s festival being the biggest yet. It’s a
feeding frenzy for fans, a must-do for performers, and a vital gathering for
international music & film industry execs.
The NXNE Film Festival is now in its 6th year. Specializing in movies with a
beat, NXNE features performance films, documentaries, feature flicks, shorts and
even animation from around the world from Rio to Rwanda. Music is never an
afterthought but an essential element of the films on view at the fest.
Previous NXNE film fests have featured the Nick Drake flick A Skin Too Few,
Steve Earle’s Just An American Boy, the Canadian premiere of Plaster Caster and
2006’s triumphant screening of The Police documentary Everyone Stares: the
Police Inside Out. Filmmaker and band member Stewart Copeland made a gala
appearance and gave a celebrity interview at the conference.
NXNE 07 featured the world premieres of Julian Temple’s classic concert film
Glastonbury, and Rock it to Rio, Don Letts’ chronicle of Franz Ferdinand’s South
American exploits, plus a screening of A.J. Schnack’s Kurt Cobain biopic About a
Son. And Letts went behind the decks and DJ’d, partied and generally had a blast
during last year’s NXNE.
"NXNE is an exciting combination of indie music and a film lovers gourmet feast.
We had a great time and we would love to come back." - Stewart Copeland
