''Winning America'' is a documentary television film about the Canadian band
Said the Whale. It follows the band on their first US tour down through California, and then to
South by Southwest. It premiered on
CBC Television on July 23, 2011. The film was directed by
Brent Hodge and Thomas Buchan, and was produced by
Brent Hodge, Jon Siddall and Sheila Peacock. It was nominated for a
Leo Award
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
in 2012.
Synopsis
The film follows the members of the band
Said the Whale as they're about to embark on their first tour in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. It starts by introducing the members of Said the Whale, showing that even though they get a lot of radio play and have successful tours in Canada, they don't actually make enough money to live off of their music earnings so they all have separate jobs.
They play a send off show in Vancouver, and then hit the road down to California on their way to
South by Southwest. The tour hits a bit of snag when their trailer gets broken into and much of their gear gets stolen (2 acoustic guitars, an entire cymbal set, 3 suitcases, 7 guitar pedals, and a
microkorg).
Eventually they do make it to
South by Southwest, and the rest of the documentary documents some of their shows there, some nights on the town, as well as Spencer (the drummer) getting attacked with a mustard bottle, and the band getting lemon tattoos to commemorate the trip.
The documentary concludes with the band winning a
Juno Award for new band of the year, highlighting the dichotomy between being successful in Canada, and being completely unknown in the U.S.
Cast
*Ben Worcester
*Tyler Bancroft
*Nathan Shaw
*Spencer Schoening
*Jaycelyn Brown
Reception
The film received positive reviews and was nominated for a
Leo Award
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
in 2012 for Best Short Documentary Program.
References
*http://cfuv.uvic.ca/cms/?p=4920
*http://thefulcrum.ca/2011/09/keep-on-keeping-on/
*http://www.straight.com/blogra/said-whale-previews-cbc-documentary
*http://stickymagazine.com/news/news/565-said-the-whale
*http://vancouverisawesome.com/2011/07/21/said-the-whale-winning-america/
*http://www.newrockstarphilosophy.com/2011/08/friday-night-music-flick-said-the-whales-winning-america-limitedtimeoffer/
*http://buyingshotsforbands.com/2011/07/13/said-the-whale-documentary-to-air-on-cbc/
*http://fistfulofsound.com/2011/07/find-me-to-win-said-the-whale-pre-screening-party-for-winning-america/
*http://www.rickchung.com/2011/07/said-whale-winning-america-cbc.html
*http://www.hellovancity.com/2011/07/15/winning-america-the-said-the-whale-documentary-media-screening-photo-gallery/
External links
Official Site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winning America
2011 television films
2011 films
Canadian documentary television films
English-language Canadian films
2011 documentary films
Rockumentaries
Films directed by Brent Hodge
2010s Canadian films