Lomax The Songhunter

Alan Lomax (1915-2002) spent much of his life travelling the globe recording traditional music. Like a hunter, he was seeking new, unknown musical expression. It was Lomax who generated world interest in folk (he discovered Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Leadbelly etc.) and the advent of the British Beat invasion of the 1960s. Without his recordings, albums and radio shows, musical history would have turned out differently. The filmmaker visits Lomax one year prior to his death. He can’t speak to him anymore, since Alan is suffering from a brain haemorrhage. The director decides to follow Lomax’s trail: He travels across Europe in an old Volkswagen and seeks out the people Lomax recorded. Sometimes it’s hard to find people, at other times he discovers true gems. Old farmers, day labourers, housewives and shepherds do the best they can to sing their prettiest song. The search is combined with conversations with colleagues and friends of Lomax. In this passionate and musical road-movie we slowly discover how wonderful (although gradually waning) folk music can be and why, years ago, it became an obsession for Alan Lomax. (source: Catalogue 40th Karlovy Vary IFF)