Alive in the music
On location in New York and searching for a musician to score a film project, Melbourne-based independent film director Rohan Spong struck upon Mimi Stern Wolfe. They got to talking, and he soon began to realise the veteran pianist had a lot more to offer him than her musical skills.
“She began to tell me the story of this whole community of gay men in her neighbourhood who were all about my age or slightly older and had all died [of AIDS-related illness]. The idea that you could lose all of your friends in your neighbourhood in a year or two… that was shocking to me,” Spong told the Star Observer.
In the 20-odd years since so many of her friends were wiped out, Stern Wolfe had held annual concerts to perform the music her community of composers, singers and other artists had created before they died. Stern Wolfe’s steely determination to keep the concerts going is captured beautifully in Spong’s new documentary All The Way Through Evening. It’s a heartrending reminder that the AIDS pandemic didn’t just kill people – it also snuffed out the culture and potential of a generation of young gay men.
“It was a whole community [that was lost], East Village people who loved classical music. There are other films out that speak about the AIDS pandemic in more general, broad terms – I wanted to do the opposite of that. It’s really about the people who came and went from this one room – the only person left in that room is Mimi.”
On screen, Stern Wolfe seems like a director’s dream subject – generous, eloquent and with a razor-sharp recall of events and memories she’s eager to share. It’s clear that the director and his subject struck up an intense rapport.
“Mimi and I are still best mates. It’s really embarrassing, but she’s now probably my best friend in the entire world. She doubles as being my grandmother and my mischievous ‘let’s go for cocktails at lunchtime’ best friend,” Spong chuckled.
“I’d just turn on the camera and let her world spontaneously unfold in a funny and chaotic manner. She’d call me at four in the morning and say [adopts Noo Yawk accent]: ‘I couldn’t sleep so I’m up rehearsing. Why don’t ya come ovah? You can put it in the movie!’ Or she’d stop as we were shooting and say, ‘Oh look, I’m tired – let’s go get lunch!’”
All The Way Through Evening premiered last year in the East Village district in which the documentary is set. It was an emotional night, with tears and even applause after each of the songs featured in the film. Here in Australia, the film gets a limited release in art-house cinemas from November 29.
“I think it’s really important that this film goes beyond queer film festivals, because it’s not just a film for gay men – it’s about how the wider community and culture has been affected by HIV/AIDS,” Spong said.
INFO: All The Way Through Evening screens in limited release from November 29. Details at www.rohanspong.net/atwte/
