The groundbreaking Detroit techno documentary God Said Give Em Drum Machines will be screening during Movement festival in Detroit this month, according to Washington Hill Pictures.
[ Read Techno Folklore, 5 Mag’s making of God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines. ]
GSGEDM, which focuses on the scene and dozens of pioneers of techno broadly but Detroit pioneers Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Eddie Fowlkes, Blake Baxter, Santonio Echols and Derrick May specifically, will be screening at the Michigan Science Center on Friday, May 26 at 7pm. General admission tickets for the screening (and, allegedly, a poster) are available via eventbrite.com.
Washington Hill Pictures (director Kristian R. Hill and executive producer Jennifer Washington) will also host a workshop on Saturday May 27 2023 from 1 to 3pm at the Detroit Historical Museum.
God Said Give Em Drum Machines premiered last June at Tribeca Film Festival. Tribeca’s associated programmer Dan Hunt called the film “a lively exploration [that] takes viewers from Detroit to Chicago to London and Berlin, tracing Techno’s origins in the African American, and not the German, community. Focusing on the talent of a group of young Black artists, God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines is a compelling, rarely showcased history of mismanaged success, damaged friendships, ascendant beats, and raw inspiration.”
The screening on May 26 is presented “in partnership with The Detroit Free Press’s Freep Film Festival, Paxahau, and Fusicology.” The documentary filmmaking and workshop at the Detroit Historical Museum is presented in partnership with David Grandison, Jr. and Detroit Techno 101.
