Although filmmaker Stephen Kijak is known for his music documentaries including "Stones in Exile," "Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made of" and "Jaco," a film about the late legendary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, he didn't know what he was getting into when he was introduced to the Japanese metal band X.
"I had never heard of them before I got called by my producer to do the film, to be perfectly honest," Kijak said during a telephone call from Los Angeles. "It was a whole world of discovery for me, and as someone who has done a lot of films about music and musicians, I was deeply embarrassed to discover a massive gap in my knowledge."
Read the full story at www.parkrecord.com/scene/ci_29405325/metal-documentary-was-mind-bending-journey-stephen-kijak .
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"We Are X"
The world documentary premieres Saturday, 2:30 p.m. at Prospector Square Theatre, Park City. Additional screenings will be held at the Tower Theatre in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m.; the Redstone Cinema 2, Park City, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 10 p.m.; the Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 9 a.m. and the Holiday Village Cinema 2, Park City, on Friday, Jan. 29, at 9:15 p.m. For more information, visit www.sundance.org.
In concert • Yoshiki, who is the subject of Stephen Kijak's Sundance documentary "We Are X," will perform an acoustic set Sunday at 4 p.m. at the ASCAP Music Café in Park City. The café is open to all Sundance Film Festival credential holders as space allows. For more information, visit www.ascap.com/sundance.
| Courtesy Sundance Film Festival A still from the film "We Are X" which will be part of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival lineup.
| Courtesy Sundance Film Festival A still from the film "We Are X" which will be part of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival lineup.
| Courtesy Sundance Film Festival A still from the film "We Are X" which will be part of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival lineup.
| Courtesy Sundance Film Festival A still from the film "We Are X" which will be part of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival lineup.
Yoshiki, left, co-founder of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, and "We Are X" director Stephen Kijak pose together at the premiere of the documentary film at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Yoshiki, co-founder of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, poses at the premiere of the music documentary film "We Are X" at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Yoshiki, center, co-founder of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, makes the X symbol with "We Are X" producer John Battsek, left, and director Stephen Kijak at the premiere of the documentary film at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
A.J. McLean, left, of the Backstreet Boys poses with Yoshiki, co-founder of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, at the premiere of the music documentary film "We Are X" at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Yoshiki, left, co-founder of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, and "We Are X" director Stephen Kijak pose together at the premiere of the documentary film at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Yoshiki, co-founder of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, poses at the premiere of the music documentary film "We Are X" at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
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