WHAT YOU COULD NOT VISUALIZE: REMA REMA

Marco Porsia | Canada | 2022 | 94′ | OmeU

What You Could Not Visualize: Rema Rema is an intimate portrait of the short-lived 4AD band Rema-Rema, who were part of the first wave of post-punk bands to form between 1978 and 1980. Their innovative and unique sound made them impetus for many subsequent and contemporaneous bands, including Joy Division, The Fall, Wire, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cabaret Voltaire, The Cure, Throbbing Gristle and many more. The band played only 11 Rema-Rema gigs in London in 1979 and disbanded before releasing their only album ‘Wheel in the Roses’ on 4AD in 1980. There are no live recordings of the band and only a handful of photos, maintaining the myth surrounding the band and their unique and innovative sound to this day. But more than 40 years later, Rema-Rema has been brought back to life thanks to the discovery of old rehearsal tapes and live recordings after the release of an album that never saw the light of day at the time.

Director Marco Porsia, whose previous documentary Swans – Where Does a Body End? was critically acclaimed, embarks on an archaeological exploration to explore the band’s unique history and find the driving forces behind their groundbreaking sound. Previously unreleased archival and Super 8 footage carries the bold, graphic style of Filmsi, which explores why Derek Jarman, Adam Ant, David Bowie, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire and Siouxsie and the Banshees are all part of the Rema-Rema story.

Afterwards BOY DIVISION will give a live fan concert!