A film by Johanna St Michaels

The Inertia Variations

Matt Johnson of the English band THE THE, has remained silent as a singer / songwriter for years. Now he attempts to challenge contemporary politics through his own 12 hour live radio broadcast. But sudden grief and a request to write a new song reveal old demons of inertia and bereavement.

Photographer: Thomas Feiner

Synopsis

Matt Johnson of the English band THE THE, known for his intensely personal and political songs, has remained silent as a singer-songwriter for the last 15 years. Conflicted by creative inertia, he has observed from the sidelines whilst corporate state propaganda has swamped the cultural airwaves.

To try and purge his feelings of disenchantment, and attempt to relocate his mojo and muse, Johnson decides to challenge the narrow media consensus through his own radio broadcast. A long-term listener of shortwave radio he launches Radio Cineola, his conceptual version of this romantic medium, via a live

midday to midnight marathon.

The show includes not only live music and poetry, but also interviews and discussion about where local, national and international democracy now stands in the 21st Century, with guests ranging from geo-political analysts to local activists, from students of mind control to semiotics experts, from teachers to healers.

But a promise to the director of the documentary, his ex-partner Johanna St Michaels, to write a new song for the broadcast stirs up old demons of inertia and bereavement.

Video still from I Saw the Light

“ It’s a fraught and emotional creative journey, and when we finally reach its poignantly joyful resolution, St Michaels’ film blossoms, as we witness a powerful new The The rising majestically from the daunting memories of past glories, fuelled by love, loss, and Johnson’s deep spiritual obligation to his art.” … “Captured at a pivotal point in his creative life, THE INERTIA VARIATIONS is an endearingly candid picture of this extraordinary British artist, and with the enigmatic Johnson valiantly exposing his heart on his sleeve, St Michaels has turned his hesitation at the artistic crossroads into a compelling work of conceptual art in its own right”

Review by Niall Greig Fulton, EIFF

Background

“You would think by now that people would know better than to ask me what I have been doing with my time”John Tottenham

The Inertia Variations is a geo-political art project, an Anglo-Swedish collaboration inspired by the poem ‘The Inertia Variations’ by John Tottenham. It is created by singer/songwriter, publisher, broadcaster, conservationist, ‘latter day soundtrack composer’, THE THE front man Matt Johnson and Swedish filmmaker and photographer Johanna St Michaels.

Matt Johnson formed THE THE at the age of 17. By early 1980s he had signed to the American record company CBS and began releasing a series of albums over the following two decades that earned him a large and loyal international following. He toured the world several times, performing in many prestigious venues globally including the Royal Festival Hall and Madison Square Garden.

Johnson is a political activist who has been creatively voicing his views since THE THE came to life, music his personal freedom, a search for the truth channeled and celebrated through lyrics, passionate about the issues that matter, issues not covered by corporate media, among them Britain as a colony of America, the corporate takeover of our cities, war and profits, and more...

Today following a decade and a half of quiet contemplation and re-awoken by a poem by John Tottenham. Matt Johnson has found and embraced new channels to communicate his search for truth and to encourage conversation...

Photographer: Johanna St Michaels

”The poem ‘The Inertia Variations’ is a meditation upon procrastination, laziness, missed opportunity and the tricks our mind plays upon us to keep us from doing what we should be doing. It arrived into my life during a very hard time. When I felt utterly lost and devoid of inspiration. The subject matter resonated so deeply that it was enough to eventually stir me from a deep and lengthy creative slumber.” Matt Johnson

Filmography Johnanna St Michaels:

Jockey 2015

A Smorgasbord of Sin, 2015

Penthouse North 2014

The Island Amid the Worlds, 2011

About Dina, 2010

Going Live, 2008

The Track, 2007

Snap Shots from Reality, 2005

Best Wishes, Bernhard, 2004

Johanna St Michaels and Matt Johnson Photographer: Gerald Jenkins

Production facts

Year of Production: 2017

Format: DCP

Sound system: 5.1, Stereo

Duration: 85 minutes

Genre: Documentary

Country of Origin: Sweden/UK/USA

Language/s: English/ Swedis

Subtitles: English

Principal Cast: Matt Johnson

Director/Producer: Johanna St Michaels

Editor: Johan Löfstedt

Music produced by: Matt Johnson, THE THE

Director of Photography: Johanna St Michaels

Sound Design/Sound Mix: Christian Christensen

Patrik Strömdahl

Color Correction/Online: Nils Petter Löfstedt

Post Production Company: Stavro produktion AB

DCP Mastering: Erik Löderstedt

Consulting Producer: Jonas Kellagher

Graphic Design: Thomas Feiner

Consulting dramturg: Karin Blixt

Made with support of:

The Swedish Film Institute/Cecilia LidinThe Swedish Arts Grants CommitteeSVT K special/Emelie Persson/ Daniel PynnönenKulturbrygganMusikverketCity of Gothenburg / Ulf Sigvardson

In Co-production with: Matt Jonhson/ LazarusFilm i Väst/Sofie Björklund

Production Company: Saint Michaels Production AB

Festival Distribution:Sara Rüster, Swedish Film InstituteSara.ruster@sfi.se+46 8 665 11 00

Production Company Contact:Johanna St Michaelsjohanna@saintmichaelsproduction.se+46 730 60 08 30www.saintmichaelsproduction.se

Johanna St Michaels is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, her company Saint Michaels Production, produces documentaries, experimental films and art installations with an emphasis on intensely personal stories and mixed media art.

The themes have evolved around the existential, social and political issues of our time and the documentaries give the viewer a glimpse of worlds that we all know exist but rarely see.