Director Of ANVIL Documentary Speaks:

Director Of ANVIL Documentary Speaks: "Anvil Are Still Trying To Understand Why I Made This Film About Them"

Picture courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival.

Indiewire.com recently caught up with Sacha Gervasi, the director of ANVIL! The Story Of Anvil. The following is an excerpt from the interview:

Q:What prompted the idea for Anvil! The True Story Of Anvil and how did it evolve?

Gervasi: "I think the idea for this film hatched somewhere around 1982. I went to see this amazing band called Anvil play at the Marquee club in London, and were known as the 'demi-gods of Canadian metal' back then. I met them after the show and they invited me to roadie for them on a tour the following summer. It was possibly the greatest time of my life. I toured with Anvil a few more times during the '80s but eventually we lost touch... [Then] I met them again a couple of years ago. It had been twenty years since we'd last seen each other. The band had never made it but they'd never stopped trying. I knew pretty quickly there was a film there."

Q: Elaborate on your approach to making the film...

Gervasi: "My approach to making the film was to surrounded myself with the best people I could find who would work for free and just go for it. I had no idea what I was doing, only an instinct. I followed that mercilessly."

Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in developing the project?

Gervasi: "The biggest challenge was in trying to make a compelling singular narrative out of hundreds of hours of footage. We could have made six films, but at the end of the day, there was only one story [producer] Rebecca Yeldham and I wanted to tell. The film could never have been made without her. She is a natural wonder. A director could never in a million years dream up a better person to produce their film."

Q: What are your specific goals for the Sundance Film Festival?

Gervasi: "I'd like to see as many films as possible while I'm at the festival as well as to celebrate ours. Anvil are still trying to understand why I made this film about them. I hope that at some point during the festival they will begin to!"

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As previously reported, the documentary will be premiered at the Sundance Film Festival which runs January 17th - 27th, 2008. Sacha is an old friend of the band's that used to do some roadie work for them back in the 1980's. The website for the film is at Anvilmovie.com.

Screening times for Anvil! The Story Of Anvil at the Sundance Film Festival:

Friday, January 18, 5:30pm - Library Center Theatre, Park City
Saturday, January 19, 9:00pm - Tower Theatre, SLC
Sunday, January 20, Noon - Egyptian Theatre, Park City
Saturday January 26, Midnight - Egyptian Theatre, Park City
Monday, January 21, 11:00am - Yarrow, Park City (press screening)