Trying to predict the moves of David Bryne is folly. The oddball solo act, St. Vincent associate and former frontman of Talking Heads is simply too strange. His latest left-turn is Contemporary Color, a documentary about Color Guard teams coming together at a Byrne-led competition to compete alongside performances from famed musicians.
The film was produced by Byrne and directed by The Ross Brothers, who previously worked on other colorful day-in-the-life docs like 45365 and Tchoupitoulas. This latest film translates the 2015 concert at Brookyln’s Barclays Center — featuring St. Vincent, Tune-Yards, Dev Hynes, Zola Jesus, Ad Rock, Nelly Furtado, Ira Glass and some of the nation’s best flag-and-rifle-twirling teams — to the big screen.
“Contemporary Color is an otherworldly blend of athleticism, grace, spirit, and art captured in an unbelievably electric and creative way,” Byrne said of the film in a statement. “Watching CC isn’t just watching a film, it is experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime performance that is so much more than the sum of its set list. The teams and the musicians created this glorious, inspiring thing that runs counter to much of what is happening in the world right now – and the Ross brothers were the ones to feel that and capture it. We need an antidote, and here it is. The world is better than we think it is.”
The trailer certainly seems to bear that out. Watch it above and look for Contemporary Color in theaters March 3.
