“A delightful odyssey.”
— Empire
Heavy Load
Feature Documentary • 2008 • 91’ • UK
Credits
Director: Jerry Rothwell
Producers: Al Morrow, Jonny Persey, Jerry Rothwell
Executive Producers: Christine Lubrano, Andy Porter, Mark Dunford, Luke Montagu
Co-Producer: Stewart le Maréchal
Partners: IFC, ITVS, BBC Storyville
Shot over two years HEAVY LOAD follows the band as they record their first album The Queen Mother’s Dead, the film is a comedy of conflicting ambitions, capturing the sweat and romance of playing in a band as they move out of the ghetto of disability club nights to test whether their dreams can survive in the mainstream.
Festivals
SXSW 2008 [World Premiere]
Raindance Film Festival 2008
Atlantic Film Festival 2008
St Louis International Film Festival 2008
Indie Memphis Film Festival 2008
Reviews
★★★★
— Total Film
“A really, really fine music documentary.”
— Mark Kermode
“A delightful odyssey.”
— Empire
“Funny and touching.”
— The Guardian
“A portrait of a nation with social services and a public so compassionate it makes our own look heartless.”
— The New York Times