Complete Unknown

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may not meet the notability guideline for fiction. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. The best way to address this concern is to reference published, third-party sources about the subject. If notability cannot be established, the article is more likely to be considered for redirection, merge or ultimately deletion, per Wikipedia:Guide to deletion.
This article has been tagged since March 2008.

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Complete Unknown (2003) is an unreleased Bob Dylan-themed documentary film that screened at film festivals in Canada and the U.K. in 2003 and 2004. It was co-directed by Canadian filmmakers Griffin Ondaatje and Craig Proctor and features their comically circuitous pilgrimages with cameraman Simon Dragland to Hibbing, the Cafe Wha?, Big Pink and other Dylan landmarks. En route the filmmakers discuss and debate the finer points of Dylan's artistic legacy while frequently disagreeing on camera over the direction the film should take (hagiographic v. iconoclastic). The film also features Super 8 home movie footage shot by the McGarrigle Sisters at the infamous Newport Folk Festival in 1965 when Dylan first "went electric".

Interviews with musicians Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Odetta, Martin Carthy, Bruce Cockburn, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Jane Siberry and The Be Good Tanyas; writers Robert Creeley, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Winter, Robert Morgan and Robert Fulford; as well as academics such as Stephen Scobie, Graeme MacQueen and Rob Bowman are a central component of the documentary. But the film also relies on the expertise of anonymous and "uncredentialed" fans in attempting to arrive at a comprehensive assessment of Dylan's abiding cultural impact.

The soundtrack features Earle, Siberry, The Tanyas, Age Aleksandersen and Al Tuck.

The film played at the Atlantic Film Festival, the Calgary Film Festival and the Birmingham Screen Festival. It was also selected for Detroit Docs and pre-selected for Sundance and Cannes.