Berkeley filmmaker Steven Okazaki won an Academy Award in 1991 for Days of Waiting, a short film about Estelle Ishigo, a Caucasian artist who went with her Japanese-American husband to a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans. Three of his other films, focusing on the  legacy of the World War II era on Japanese Americans, have also been nominated for Oscars.

Now Okazaki has turned his attention to the music of Nels Cline, one of the country’s most accomplished guitarists and a member of the band Wilco.

Shot entirely inside Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, Approximately Nels Cline is an examination of every aspect of the guitarist. The short documentary shows Cline playing electric and acoustical guitar, improvising, and performing traditional and experimental music. The film — Okazaki’s first music documentary — explores Cline’s genius and sense of adventure and showcases his “fearless experimental spirit.”

“It’s not your typical music documentary,” said Okazaki. “It’s about musicianship and the collaborative hard work of playing great music.” … Continue reading »