The Groovy DocuWeeks Screening of 'Rock Prophecies'

Friday, August 7th, DocuWeeks kicked off its second week with a bang! Rock Prophecies, John Chester's wonderful film about legendary rock photographer Robert Knight, played to a packed house at the Arclight. This was the first public showing of the film outside of film festivals.

It's a testament to the filmmaking that someone such as myself, who is musically illiterate, so thoroughly enjoyed the film despite not always realizing the significance of the rock stars Knight was photographing. FYI, "musically illiterate" is the technical term for someone whose music collection consists of two dozen musical theater soundtracks and doesn't particularly like the Beatles. Go ahead, make fun.

In addition to Knight's entertaining anecdotes about everyone from Keith Richards to Elton John (I do know who they are), the film also delves into Knight's efforts to take care of his Alzheimer's afflicted mother, his attempts to foster new music talent and his concerns about staying relevant in a field where he is now an elder statesman. It would have been fascinating enough for audiences to just watch Knight talk about the experiences of shooting people like Jeff Beck and Slash, but his openness in expressing his thoughts about these larger life issues give the film depth and heart, making it resonant to guitar and non-guitar fans alike.

Knight was in attendance at the screening, and while we were in line waiting to validate our parking tickets, I took the opportunity to chat with him about the film. Knight is used to being behind the camera; I asked him it had been like switching sides as the subject of a documentary. He said that the two years during which they shot were very difficult for him.

I also asked him about why he believes a single image is still significant at a time when people are showered with a plethora of images, both moving and still, from YouTube to Flickr to billboards. Said Knight, "A single still image is important because it captures a single moment in time that will be there for years to come – IF it's done right!"

Director John Chester and producer Tim Kaiser were also in attendance at the screening, along with special guest Tyler Dow Bryant, the young blues guitarist that Knight champions in the film. Bryant wowed the audience at the Arclight with an acoustic performance following the film, and hung out with the crowd at the Samsung-sponsored after-party. Musical guests in the audience included Steve Lukather from Toto, John 5 from Mansion and Zombie , and Orianthi Panagaris, the young female guitar player who, according to Knight's blog post, landed the coveted gig as Michael Jackson’s new guitar player for the 50 show run of concerts he was about to start in London.