Jazz Winnipeg & The Winnipeg New Music Festival Present
A Very Special World Premiere Live Score
DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME
Film by Bill Morrison
Music composed and performed with Sigur Ros producer Alex Somers
The now-famous, once-lost Dawson City Collection was uncovered in 1978 when a bulldozer working its way through a parking lot dug up a horde of film cans. Director Bill Morrison draws on these permafrost-protected, rare silent films and newsreels, pairing them with archival footage, interviews, historical photographs, and an enigmatic score by Sigur Rós collaborator and composer Alex Somers. Called “wondrous almost indescribable... a complete astonishment from beginning to end” by Los Angeles Times, Dawson City: Frozen Time depicts the unique history of this Canadian Gold Rush town by chronicling the life cycle of a singular film collection through its exile, burial, rediscovery, and salvation.
Somers gained notoriety through his work with Icelandic experimental post-rock band Sigur Ros and partner Jónsi’s critically-acclaimed self-titled solo project. The composer, producer, and visual artist has worked as co-producer, mixer, and engineer on several Sigur Rós releases including Valtari and Kveikur. In addition to being the world premiere of the live score, this is also Somers’ first performance in Winnipeg.