Romantic Warriors Synopsis

Progressive music is rarely played on the radio. Usually complex and conceptual using long song structures, progressive music bands operate in the underground exploring the form in every genre with the passion and dedication of their predecessors – Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Emerson Lake and  Palmer, and Gentle Giant – while searching for  ways to reach their audiences.

About the film

This feature length documentary film highlights five contemporary progressive music bands: Cheer Accident - Avant/Experimental (USA), Deluge Grander - Symphonic (USA), Phideaux - Symphonic (USA), Cabezas de Cera - Eclectic Jazz Fusion(Mexico) and D.F.A. - Jazz Rock (Italy).  These musicians tell their stories, influences, creative process, challenges they face, and how they sell music in the era of Internet downloads.

This film is also about the passion and spirit of progressive music genre, its music, its festivals and the ecosystem that supports it.

About the production

The production of Romantic Warriors started in early 2009. We have interviewed musicians, filmed concerts at progressive music festivals, talked to fans, label owners and festival organizers.

At this point we have filmed about 80% of the footage, and a fundraising trailer of 10 Min. has been cut. The next step is to film the last few interviews, complete a rough cut by January 2010 and a fine cut of 70 minutes by May 2010. Our plan is to release the DVD in early summer of 2010, when we will submit the film to national and international film festival circuits.

About the filmmakers:

Adele Schmidt is an award-winning documentary film producer, director and editor. She is co-founder of the production company http://www.zeitgeistmedia.tv/ - Zeitgeist Media LLC and has produced and edited in the last 15 years more then five long-format documentaries (all aired on national PBS) and other film and video productions. Adele’s productions have won numerous industry awards. These awards include the Telly Awards, the TIVA-DC Peer Award, the U.S. International Film and Video Festival Award and the Gabriel Award.