The genre world has been spoilt for choice of late with excellent documentaries helping us discover more about the movies we love. From finding out about Richard Stanley invading his own “Island of Dr. Moreau” in Lost Soul to what could have been without Sting in winged underwear from Jodorowsky’s Dune. Next up to get this under the skin treatment is Phantom of The Paradise.
Take a look at an early teaser below and learn how you can be part of the exploration process on Indiegogo.
On release, the film landed with a mighty thud and quickly disappeared back from whence it came…
… this would be where the story ended if it weren’t for the brave denizens of the small and frigid Canadian city of Winnipeg who didn’t get the memo. Instead local kids (shockingly between the ages of 9-13) turned the film into an enduring phenomenon with local box office grosses larger than the studio blockbuster Jaws.
These little Winnipegers did this by buying up thousands upon thousands of tickets, sending the soundtrack up the charts and even flying in Williams for a concert where he was treated like a member of the Beatles by the mobs of teens assembled. An entire generation of kids grew up on The Phantom of the Paradise and they continue to keep the cult around the film alive today with sold out screenings and events still happening in Winnipeg to this day.
Phantom of Winnipeg tells the story of the unique fan community that sprung up around the film and the people whose rock and roll obsessions are still going strong decades later. This documentary will be an exploration of an outsider community and the very DNA of fan culture itself told via the true life stories of those fateful Winnipeg kids who just got it, the cast and creative team behind the original film who saw it all go down first-hand and the famous artists who swear that Winnipeg was definitely on to something.
About the filmmakers:
Award-winning Sundance/SXSW/AFI Docs alumni documentary director/producer Malcolm Ingram, the man with behind such hits as Small Town Gay Bar, Continental, Bear Nation, and Out To Win. He is also known to some as the golden-voiced former host of SModcast’s Blow Hard podcast.
Joining him on this track is his motley crew of unwashed rock and roll confidants including Matt Thomas (Producer), Sean Stanley (Editor) and Doug Carlson (an original Winnipeg Phantom fan and Consulting Producer).
