Whitney Houston, Laibach docos to screen at Sydney Film Festival

A documentary on the life and career of Whitney Houston is among the first round of announcements for the Sydney Film Festival program this year, which will also feature a film chronicling Slovenian metal band Laibach’s controversial performance in North Korea and a celebration of Native Americans and Canadians in rock history.

Whitney: Can I Be Me is directed by Nick Broomfield, who also made the controversial 1998 documentary Kurt & Courtney as well as 2002’s Biggie & Tupac. The unflinching film includes backstage footage from the peak period of her fame that’s never been publicly shown, as well as interviews with those close to the late star, including her bodyguard.

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World, named after the seminal track by Shawnee musician Link Wray, is an exploration of the influence of Native musical traditions and rhythms on the American South, rock’n’roll and the forms that grew from it. Martin Scorsese, Quincy Jones, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Iggy Pop, Robbie Robertson are interviewed on the undervalued contribution North America’s indigenous peoples have made to arguably its greatest art form.

Then there’s Liberation Day, a doco that sounds like a cross between Spinal Tap and The Interview. It follows Slovenian art-metal band Laibach as they travel to Pyongyang to perform "deadpan" covers of songs from The Sound Of Music in the oppressive North Korean government’s celebrations marking 70 years since of the end of Japanese occupation.

The Sydney Film Festival runs from June 7 to June 18. The full program will be announced on Wednesday May 10.