Heavy Metal Film Festival Founder Inspired by Anvil and Black Metal

The world's first-ever film festival dedicated exclusively to heavy metal music is set to take place at the Downtown Independent Cinema in Los Angeles, California. The Heavy Metal Film Festival runs from March 31 through April 3, 2011. The fest will include a slew of flicks featuring bands like Immortal, Blind Guardian, and many others.

Noisecreep recently managed to catch up with the festival's founder and organizer, Samuel Douek, to learn more about the festival.

Noisecreep: Did a specific film inspire you to do this, or was it another festival that sparked the idea?

Samuel Douek: I organize the Hola Mexico Film Festival, so I've been doing this kind of thing for a few years now. I don't think there was one film that sparked it, it was many of them. I'm talking about things like the Anvil doc, 'A Headbanger's Journey,' 'Until the Light Takes Us,' and the smaller documentaries and making-of sections included on the albums in my collection.

There's so much video material out there. I thought would be awesome to have the best of it in a cinema for a few days.

There's been a surge in heavy metal documentaries these past few years.

I think that is true about all kinds of documentaries in general. Every festival around the world has seen an increase in documentaries in a huge way. People want to tell personal stories and many of us are tired of all of the crap Hollywood is pumping out. Also, it's not too difficult to make a doc. You just need an HD video camera and any computer that has decent editing software.

In regards to heavy metal documentaries, we are a rare breed. The community is full of characters that are larger than life. Metal musicians are like the WWF, or like superheroes that you read about in Marvel Comics. But it's much better because it's real. Heavy metal is the single most dynamic, powerful, and epic music style out there.

That said, did you have to turn a lot of entries away due to lack of quality?

There were a few like that, but most were great. There were a few submissions where I had to tell them that their cinematography was amazing, but their storytelling was lacking. So I had to pass on a few like that.

What films are you particularly excited about in this festival?

I'm thrilled about our opening night and a movie called 'Marimbas Del Infierno (Marimbas From Hell).' It's a film that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, which is one of the biggest ones out there. It's a piece that does not resemble any other metal films out there, yet it's totally metal! I'm waiting for the hard rock audience to check it out and go as crazy as I did when I first saw it.

I also love 'Three Days,' a film from Lithuania, about the band Dissimulation. Daina Pupkeviciute, the director, sent us a DVD of it and I wasn't sure what to expect, but the film blew me away!

Another film I'm excited is 'Travelers at the Edge of Time' from Blind Guardian. I think they are one of the finest metal bands in the world today. I can't believe we're screening a world premiere of a film they did especially for our festival!

Can you talk about some of the panelists you have coming to the screenings?

Sacha Gervasi, the director of 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil,' will be here. We also have Ian McFarland coming down. He has been working behind the camera in the metal world for many years. He's done music videos and live shows, and he's quite a cinematographer as well. I can't wait to hear what he shares with everyone.

What is your favorite heavy metal film of all time?

Man that is such a tough question! I would have to say 'A Headbanger's Journey' or 'A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica,' which is a film I must have seen ten times back in the day on VHS.