Cultural icons can often have deep roots. Zappa and Me delves into the photo, photographer and story behind an image that help nurture the status of Frank Zappa.
Director Zoe Clough and producers Wild Dog unpick a story that includes the height of the 60s music scene, strong-arm heavies and a roller-coaster creative journey.
As a young shutter-bug, Robert Davidson found himself in the midst of the swinging sixties, creating a host of images. The one he captured of Frank Zappa sitting on a toilet created a shocking sizzle that took the world by storm, and is still held in two of Britain’s major museums – the V&A and the National Portrait Gallery.
The Kickstarter for Zappa and Me (working title), has been launched to help the team complete the film, and tell Robert’s story.
In 2022, director Zoe Clough made a 30 minute rough cut for Robert’s 80th birthday. They are now in the process of creating a 90-minute feature doc with interviews with key journalists and others involved with Zappa in the 1960s.
Benefits from the Kickstarter include limited edition posters or even a film credit. Take a look to see which floats your boat and learn more about the story, and see where actor Sadie Frost fits in.
Of course, the doc had loads of Devon connections. But more than that, it’s a story of the rocky road of the creative journey.
“Our previous film Ghosts of Alderney – Hitler’s Island Slaves is currently streaming on Channel 4 and UKTV in the UK and on RTE in Ireland,” say the Zappa and Me team. “Our strategy for Zappa and Me is for the film to premier at a major film festival and then be realised in the cinema in UK, before being picked up by broadcasters and streamers.”
