The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Thu Mar 11 at 7:00 (SOLD OUT), 9:00 (SOLD OUT), 10:45pm

Special Sneak Peek Screenings in advance of U.S. Premiere Shows at SXSW in Austin, TX.

In the summer of 2007, shortly after the release of their 6th album Icky Thump, The White Stripes headed north of their hometown of Detroit to embark on an ambitious journey across Canada. The plan was to play a show in every province and territory in Canada, from B.C. to Newfoundland to Nunavut. “Having never done a tour of Canada, Meg and I thought it was high time to go whole hog… from the ocean to the permafrost” says Jack White. “We wanted to play out of the way towns that don’t usually get shows…the shows are better, it’s better for the people, it’s a better experience, it’s way more unique, something interesting is going to happen… hopefully.”

White called upon filmmaker Emmett Malloy to come and document this trek for the band. Malloy had directed videos for the band in the past, and seemed eager to hit the road with them. Equipped with a couple of 16mm cameras, and a few other documenting devices, the band and crew all headed north. The end result was UNDER GREAT WHITE NORTHERN LIGHTS, documenting The White Stripes making their way through Canada and culminating with their 10th anniversary show in Nova Scotia. The film shows the band playing shows all over Canada — from local bowling alleys, to city buses, and onward to the historic Savoy Theatre for the 10th Anniversary show — a show that turned out to be the longest show the band had ever done on stage together.

The film captures intimate moments of Jack and Meg both on and off stage as they travel through some of the most remote parts of the northern Yukon Territory. Along the way, they have some nice casual conversations about their ten years together, fire cannons, play some of their biggest songs together on stage, and even play a “one note show.” The cameras were there to capture every waking moment.

Photo courtesy: Autumn de Wilde

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.