VTIFF Musical Silents: Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
VTIFF Musical Silents: Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
Live improvised score by Matt Hagen plus Johnnie Day Durand
One of the most innovative and influential films of the silent era, Dziga Vertov’s Man With a Movie Camera utilizes rapid editing and innumerable other cinematic effects to create a work of amazing modernity and power. This dawn-to-dusk view of urban Soviet life shows people at work, at play, and at the machines that endlessly whirl to keep the metropolis alive. It was Vertov’s first full-length film, and it employs all the cinematic techniques at the director’s disposal—dissolves, split-screens, slow-motion, and freeze-frames—to produce a work that is as exhilarating as it is intellectually brilliant.
Matt Hagen is a Burlington, Vermont-based musician whose sound is as layered and unhurried as the Green Mountain seasons. His music varies from instrumental, genre bending guitar to intimate storytelling, with a voice that feels lived-in and genuine. A fixture in Vermont’s independent music scene, Matt has earned recognition, trust, and respect as a standout voice in Burlington’s vibrant creative community. Whether performing at premier clubs, intimate local venues, headlining events, supporting main stage acts, or tucked into a quiet corner of the city, he brings a rare authenticity that resonates long after the last chord fades. A seasoned songwriter, bandleader, and eclectic collaborator, Hagen writes and performs in a palatable fashion while unafraid to wander into strange sonic territory. It’s music made for people who listen closely.