Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story – Cracking the Frame
Back in 2014, Lenny Abrahamson brought out his feature Frank, a film based on the extraordinary life of Chris Sievey (1955), who aspired one thing only: becoming a pop artist. He tried everything, fame eluded him. In the late 70's Sievey had a sliver of success with the straightforward punk of his band The Freshies. But he dreamed of stardom and thought up all sorts of weird promotion strategies. One made him famous: Frank Sidebottom, the man with the papier-mâché head.
Initially, Sidebottom only appeared in video clips and during concerts of The Freshies, but soon the character took on a life of his own, leading to TV performances and even an own band: the Oh Blimey Big Band. Nobody knew who was hiding under the head of Sidebottom, which remained so until Sievey's death in 2010. In his fascinating documentary, filmmaker Steve Sullivan portrays the life of Sievey. He spoke to family and former bandmates and had access to Sievey's private archive.
After the film a Q&A with director Steve Sullivan and Martin Sievey, Chris' brother.