77 drummers playing as one as captured in the documentary "77BoaDrum"

by Chris MaGee

I was so tied up writing my coverage for the recent Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival that I couldn't give the attention I wanted to the great New York-Tokyo Film Grand Prix Festival that just took place in New York City. Its organizers programmed a fantastic line-up (check it out here), but one of the films, a documentary directed by Jun Kawaguchi, a Tokyo-based music video director, really stood out for me. In "77BoaDrum" Kawaguchi set out to capture the gathering of 77 drummers that took place in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York at exactly 7:07p.m. on July 7th, 2007. The event was organized by Japanese experimental noise rock pioneers The Boredoms and drew drummers from across North America.

Kawaguchi, a die hard Boredoms fan, had spent a decade chronicling the band's live performances so the July 7th/07 concert was no different, but afterwards as he was editing together his own live footage with videos from friends and downloaded from YouTube the 89-minute "77BoaDrum" documentary took form. Besides the screening ay NYTFGP2008 I haven't heard of any other North American screenings or a domestic DVD release for the doc. Let's cross our fingers and hope that changes very soon because if the trailer below is any indication then this is truly mind-blowing stuff.

Check out the official "77BoaDrum" site here.