ROCK SCHOOL
Enter to win passes to the film at Slugfest
to be held on April 30 Dream World
ROCK SCHOOL will open in Dallas, TX on Friday, June 3, 2005.
First time feature documentary filmmaker Don Argott traces the
ups-and-downs of the Paul Green School of Rock Music, a unique
institution founded in Philadelphia in 1999, dedicated to teaching
children ages nine through 17 the ins-and-outs of rock and roll.
That’s rock and roll, kids. Not hip-hop. Not Britney.
Not Limp Bizkit. But a thunderous roll call of musical greats:
Led Zeppelin. Pink Floyd. Black Sabbath. Carlos
Santana. Frank Zappa.
ROCK SCHOOL follows an entire season of classes, in the process
establishing school founder, director, and self-proclaimed
“überlord” Paul Green as one of the most complex, contradictory
and unforgettable characters in recent films. A whirling dervish
of manic, pinball-machine energy, Green is at once sensitive and
verbally abusive; generous-spirited and mercilessly critical. As
tornado-like as his tantrum-filled teaching style can be, however,
Paul’s commitment to his student’s goal of achieving musical greatness
is never in doubt.
Paul’s thorny relationship with his students is the true subject of
ROCK SCHOOL. For while the sight of nine-year-olds performing
Black Sabbath songs outfitted in full heavy metal regalia is charming,
ROCK SCHOOL goes deeper: posing tough questions about the nature of
prodigal talent and flamed-out youth. Is Paul—a failed guitar God
himself—fostering his students’ gifts or inhibiting them? Is he
living vicariously through his students? Or using the school to
fulfill the rock and roll dream of suspended adolescence?
Filmed cinéma vérité style to create an intimate
portrait of this one-of-a-kind instructor and his eagerly aspiring
students, ROCK SCHOOL reaches its climax in Bad Doberon, East Germany,
where the School of Rock Music honor roll is invited to perform the
music of Frank Zappa. This special festival dedicated to the
prog-rocker’s oeuvre features Zappa legends such as Ike Willis and
Napoleon Murphy-Brock. . . and the kids prove they can rock with
the very best of them.
A meditation on talent and teaching, ROCK SCHOOL is a celebration of
youthful promise and steadfast dreams. It is also a kick-ass
music movie that should be played loud!
ROCK SCHOOL is directed by Don Argott and produced by Sheena M. Joyce
and Don Argott. This feature documentary is edited by Demian
Fenton, with Argott serving as director of photography. ROCK
SCHOOL, which had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival
on June 18, 2004, will be distributed in North America by Newmarket
Films.