This loving, vivacious doc chronicles disco’s trajectory, from its origins in the early 70s through its harsh repudiation in the early 80s to its triumphant rebirth as house music. Directors Peter Mishara and Omar Majeed use interviews, needle drops, and a treasure trove of archival footage to convey not only the facts about the genre, but the feel of it as well.
In many ways, DJs were the real stars of disco, and at times it seems like the directors have paid tribute to that fact by making an annotated, illustrated mixtape session. The cutting matches the relentless drive of the music: the “four on the floor” bass kick, the fast tempo of the high hat, and the snap of the snare. The film is a history lesson as well, offering a cogent examination of the sexual, gender, and racial politics connected to the genre. Beautifully assembled, loaded with info, and bursting with energy, Disco’s Revenge is a joyful experience.
Oct 4 & 6: Q&A with directors Omar Majeed & Peter Mishara
Presented by
Media Partner
Nile Rodgers, Billy Porter, Nona Hendryx, Grandmaster Flash, Fab Five Freddy, Nicky Siano
Canada
2024
English
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Nile Rodgers, Stanley Nelson Jr., Vivian Scott Chew
Producer
Noah Segal, Sam Sutherland, Christina Piovesan, Dave Harris
Screenwriter
Peter Mishara, Omar Majeed
Cinematography
Ashley Iris Gill
Editor
Omar Majeed, Peter Mishara, Navin Harrilal
Original Music
Jody Colero, Tiffany Su
Omar Majeed
Omar Majeed is an award-winning director, editor, and producer who studied cinema at York University. His first feature-length documentary TAQWACORE: The Birth of Punk Islam (2009) chronicled the rise of the nascent Muslim Punk scene in North America and Pakistan. In 2012, Omar produced and co-directed The Frog Princes (2012) profiling a Montreal-based theatre troupe of young adults with developmental disabilities which aired nationally on CBC.
Filmography: TAQWACORE: The Birth of Punk (2009)
Peter Mishara
Peter Mishara is a writer and director from New York City. He is best known for the TV mini series The Artists (2018) and the short film Sprnva (2014). Disco’s Revenge is his first feature film and co-directed with Omar Majeed.
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
You Had to Be There
In a strange quirk of fate, the legendary Toronto '72 production of the musical comedy Jesus hit Godspell launched a constellation of comedy stars, all unknown at the time but now known to us as Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Victor Garber, et al
Shot in Vancouver: The Changeling, introduced by Sam Wiebe
To mark the publication of Sam Wiebe's new book about BC film, Shot in Vancouver, we're pleased to welcome Sam to introduce Severin Film's new 4K restoration of Peter Medak's 1980 haunted house classic — with Vancity standing in for Seattle.
House of Hope
"House of Hope" is the name of a Waldorf elementary school near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, founded by Manar and her husband Milad. This documentary follows their efforts to go about their lives before, during, and after the events of October 7.
Day of Wrath
Anna, the young second wife of a well-respected but much older pastor, falls in love with her stepson when he returns to their small seventeenth-century village. Stepping outside the bounds of the village's harsh moral code has disastrous results.
Atonement
A former Marine suffering from PTSD seeks a meeting with the Iraqi family to which he did great wrong ten years earlier in the Gulf War. Atonement navigates challenging, politically-charged psychological territory with diligence and sensitivity.
