Years before they became major players in Hollywood, a group of young German filmmakers-including eventual noir masters Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer and future Oscar winners Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann-worked together on the once-in-a-lifetime collaboration People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag). This effervescent, sunlit silent, about a handful of city dwellers (a charming cast of nonprofessionals) enjoying a weekend outing, offers a rare glimpse of Weimar-era Berlin. A unique hybrid of documentary and fictional storytelling, People on Sunday was both an experiment and a mainstream hit that would influence generations of film artists around the world.
Formed in 2000 in Paris, NLF3 is the instrumental group of brothers Nicolas and Fabrice Laureau, accompanied since 2006 by drummer Jean-Michel Pirès. The trio explores a cyclical, textured music, halfway between soundtrack and psychedelic rock transgression, imprinted with electronics. After two remarkable albums, their film concert on Que viva Mexico! by Sergei Eisenstein goes around the world. Many tours and creations follow, accompanied by album releases. NLF3 unveils on stage as on disc, an atmospheric universe with open instrumentation. Electric guitars, vintage keyboards, percussion and electronic effects invent pulsations and melodies in weightlessness, playing as much on densities as on minimalism.