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Update · CARMINE STREET GUITARS

12:30 2:15 4:10 6:00 7:45 9:30
Wednesday, April 24 – Tuesday, May 7

PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY RON MANN

The mystique of the Greenwich Village as a haven for bohemians, artists, and musicians lives on (simply steps from Update) at Carmine Street Guitars: Rick Kelly and apprentice Cindy Hulej construct handcrafted, one-of-a-kind devices from wooden salvaged from the town’s defunct buildings. (Unfazed 93-year-old mother Dorothy retains the books and solutions the cellphone.) Nothing appears or seems like Rick Kelly’s guitars, which is why they’re embraced by Bob Dylan and Patti Smith, amongst others. Every week within the lifetime of the store options visits from its devoted clientele: Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Band), Kirk Douglas (The Roots), Eleanor Friedberger, Nels Cline (searching for Wilco bandmate Jeff Tweedy), jazz guitarists Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot, and filmmaker/composer Jim Jarmusch. “A love letter… to the art of crafting a damn fine Stratocaster, to taking pride in your work and to finding a place for freaks and misfits to call home.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone

Presented with help from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Fund

CANADA 2018 80 MINS ABRAMORAMA

Reviews

“An intimate look at a maker of guitars… a mostly quiet celebration of the work of an artisan. Tender without sentimentality. Absorbing as it is understated. A magical destination for guitarists. (Kelly is) a craftsman who feels as American as Norman Rockwell. With each visit, the story of the shop unfolds; like a vaudeville act that keeps you in suspense for the next performer. The wood of the guitars is a metaphor as much as it is material. Kelly is recycling the bones of an earlier generation of New York.”
– David D’Arcy, Screen Daily

“A little gem for both guitar heads and lovers of old New York. A rewarding tangent on rock ‘n’ roll iconography. A delight for six-string gearheads and a reverie for those who still treasure what remains of pre-Bloomberg, pre-Giuliani New York. Jazz giants Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot drop in, offering improv or a lovely take on ‘Surfer Girl’… As fun as these micro-concerts are, the musings of longtime customers can be more enjoyable. A rare holdout against Manhattan homogenization.”
– John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter

“A meditation on the magic of wood and of music, and the interaction of people.”
– Variety

“A sweet, enlightening and inspiring documentary that pays homage to the way things were done before mass production.”
– Austin American Statesman