Alexandra Lipsitz is the 3-time Emmy nominated co-producer of Project Greenlight & Project Runway. Air Guitar Nation is the first project she’s directed. So far, it’s collected several festival awards, including “Best Documentary” at the Whistler Film Festival, the “Audience Award” at Austin’s South by Southwest, and “Official Selections” at the Tribeca, Woodstock, and Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Our man Aaron Mathews corresponded with Alexandra via email and asked her to answer some questions about the movie.
First of all, I loved the movie. How has the movie been received so far?
We have had an amazing reception everywhere we took the film- it has truly been a great ride.
What do you think is the appeal of air guitar as a competitive sport?
It is like going to a rock concert and sporting event at the same time, you get the best of both worlds.
Where did you get the idea to make a movie about this subject?
We got it from an article in the Wall St. Journal: where all great rock n roll ideas come from.
What made C. Diddy (David Jung) and Bjorn Turoque (Dan Crane) stand out to you as protagonists for the movie, besides the attention each had received in the media?
C diddy wore a lot of red satin and a Hello Kitty breast plate and was an obvious master of air, Bjorn Turoque had a way of showing up so he was kind of hard to miss.
I really liked how you covered the reactions of the competitors’ parents. What was the general reaction from the parents to their offspring participating in the Air Guitar championships? I think the parents reacted like all parents should react when their children are involved in an competitive art form. They want their kids to be the best they can be- doesn’t matter what the art form or sport, they get involved and caught up in it. My favorite moment was at the 45 Special bar in Oulu Finland, when Mrs Jung had her first bar experience and the naked guy got up on stage- I think this left a lasting impression.
Air Guitar Nation is out on DVD today.