DEVO | Vivid Film – Australian Premiere

Acclaimed filmmaker Chris Smith captures the gloriously radical spirit that is DEVO – a rare band founded by a philosophy; a Dada experiment of high art meets low, hellbent on infiltrating American popular culture.

Through never-before-seen archival footage and new interviews with Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale, Devo relishes in the ups, downs, surrealist situations and incredible performances of a 50-year career, embracing the spectacle of the band from their lo-fi beginnings to pioneers of the music video in the early days of MTV’s cultural dominance.

Band members are open with their memories and archives, charting their origins as Kent State University arts students shaped by the activism of the late 1960s. Following the 1970 massacre on their campus, the band’s concept of cultural De-Evolution turned from satirical humour to urgent social commentary, and what began as subversive counterprogramming to KSU’s 1973 arts festival would go on to warn of, comment on, and reflect back the absurdism of the late 20th century. Finding mainstream success at the height of 1980s consumerism, Devo soundtracked the De-Evolution they’d long predicted – and influenced a 21st century they’d have never believed possible.

• “…Every bit as fun as its subject” – Variety

• “…Packaged in a dizzying barrage of imaginative visuals and infectious music that’s almost overwhelming — in the best possible way.” – Hollywood Reporter

• “…Embodies the band’s raucous spirit [and is] imbued with the same twinkle in its eye, the same sense of mischief and Dadaist sensibility, that made Devo so alluring in the first place.” – Indiewire

• “…Something truly special” – Vanyaland