Documentary Review: Mind Exchange Music presents: The Showcase, the power of collaboration.

Mind Exchange Music presents: The Showcase is an exceptional documentary film about making music through unlikely collaborations.

The film focuses more on the original compositions of the subjects of the film. We get to see the challenges and the success of the collaborative effort of sound engineers, producers, composers, a symphony orchestra, a rock band and a host of talented vocalists.

When I say the compositions are original, that’s an understatement. I doubt I have heard music like anywhere else before. The fusion of instruments and different genres and styles of composition is certainly unique and quite an experience. 

That is exactly what best describes the music that this film is about, a unique experience. What adds to the experience is getting to see the musicians all work together in recording the music. 

Donny Walker and Kelly Askam, who co-directed the film are at the centre of everything happening in this film. It starts with them. They take turns explaining the creative process and the inspiration behind each of the songs recorded. They do their best to break it all down in the simplest of ways. 

Those two along with Zachariah Jarrett are part of the formation of Chicago’s Mind Exchange Music and the brains behind the entire performance. But they can’t take all the credit. Lake County Symphony Orchestra, vocalists Sami Wolf, Nikki Morgan, Kaitlin Foley, Alexandra Olsavsky, Diana Lawrence, dramatist/artist Tara Perry as well as several other talents in various fields of music participate in the making of this film.

You can’t help but appreciate the efforts of coordination that are required to have all those talents in the same space at the same time. The challenges they faced are many but they successfully pull it off and we get to see the entire recording process in this film. 

The planning and coordination of talents and personnel are spot on.

At some point, we get to see them in the process of scoring a film which is pretty quite interesting.

The film is truly a showcase of talent. It looks like a complex undertaking but it is simple in the sense that the music is the focus and you can’t overlook the somewhat sensory journey you are sent on. 

What this film preaches is the power of collaboration. Teamwork makes the dream work as they say. This film is an idea that can’t be achieved by just one person or talent.

I would score this 3 out of 5 stars.