Butwhatdoesthatsenseofsupportivenessandcom
munitymean when employedin documentaryfilmmaking?
Criticalobjectivityisn’tjusta standardappliedtocritics,butto
documentarians– who,evenwhenspendingyearsentwined
withtheirsubjects,aresupposedtosomehowkeepa critical
distancefromthem.BothNowSound:Melbourne’sListening
andHerSound,HerStorygrewoutofmusicscenes,and
existingrelationshipsforgedtherein.Willis,thedirectorof
theformer,hasworkedwithLanewayFestival,ClientLiaison,
Kirin J Callinan,CourtneyBarnett,Kllo and Sui Zhen; and
hisproducer,MarcusRimondini,hashada longcareerasa
musicjournalist.^9 SangiorgiDalimore,thedirectorofthelatter,
has made musicvideosfor 360, ThelmaPlum, Odette,Kaiit
and Mojo Juju; and her producer,MichelleGraceHunder,is
a musicphotographerwhoinitiallyconceivedofHerSound,
HerStoryasa photographicwork(inspiredbyhavingseen
the stark genderdisparityat play in her hip-hoppassionpro
jectRISE).^10 Atthebeginning,Hunderrecounts,sheinitially
enlisted‘people[she]hadalreadyworkedwith,orClaudiahad
alreadyworkedwith’.But,bytheendoftheproject,having
spentsomuchtimetogether– somesubjectsevenstaying
at SangiorgiDalimore’shouse– the filmmakersrealisedthey
‘hadbuilta community’asmuchaschronicledone.^11
ThatsenseofwarmthpermeatesHerSound,HerStory.
Whilethetalkingheadsoundbitesthereintouchoninstitu
tionalisedprejudice,sexualassaultandthepatriarchaltenor
of music-bizpolitics,the film isn’t an indictmentof a macho
culturebuta celebrationofthosedefyingit. WhileSangiorgi
Dalimoredescribestheindustry’sslowsocialprogressas‘one
stepforward,twostepsback’,^12 andhasspokenofthecon
temporaryclimateas‘a boldandfrighteningtimetobealive’,^13
her doc is a work of positivityfloatedinto a climateof negati-
vity.‘Wewerereallylike,“We’renotgoingtomakeanangry
film, becausethat’s not going to do anythingfor anybody’,’
SangiorgiDalimoresays.‘I thinkthere’sa reasonwhythings
arechanging,andit’smostlytodowithhowthemessages
are being delivered.’^14 InHer Sound, Her Story, there is anger,xxxxBothNowSound:Melbourne’s
ListeningandHerSound,HerStory
grewoutofmusicscenes,and
existingrelationshipsforgedtherein
... Thesedocumentariesaren’tjust
chroniclesofsuchcommunities
but products of them.Above,fromtop:SimonaCastricum;revellersqueueoutsideTheGasometer
Hotel for the Daydreams event, bothinNow Sound: Melbourne’s Listening
104 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM