A SXSW World Premiere, Resynator earned the festival’s Audience Award and has gone on to screen at festivals worldwide. Join filmmaker Alison Tavel on a personal journey into her own family history and the legacy of the Resynator, the synthesizer her late father, Don, invented. The film features a star-studded roster of musicians, including Mark Ronson, Jimmy Jam, Money Mark (The Beastie Boys), Gotye, Jon Anderson, Fred Armisen, Peter Gabriel, Grace Potter, and more.
Directed by Alison Tavel from a script she co-wrote with Kathryn Robson, who also co-edited the film with Chris Gibson.
ABOUT THE FILM
Inventor Don Tavel died suddenly when his newborn daughter was just ten weeks old. Growing up surrounded by mythical stories of her “genius” father, Alison’s life is consequently absent from any meaningful connection to him. Not until she is in her mid-twenties and on tour with rock musician Grace Potter is the seed planted to discover what he invented. Resynator is a narrative documentary that begins when Alison rescues Don’s synthesizer prototype from her grandmother’s attic. What starts off as a curious resurrection project of her dad’s Resynator soon launches into an insatiable, globe-trotting quest to untangle the web of myths and unlock the deep secrets surrounding his life and invention.
Aided by an estranged family, lost friends, fellow inventors and celebrated musicians (Grace Potter, Peter Gabriel, Fred Armisen, Gotye, Jon Anderson, Mark Ronson and more), Alison soon discovers Don’s brilliance herself. But in unpacking his life, she also discovers unsettling truths about her father that don’t align with her long-held perception of him, as the picture of a vulnerable man emerges to replace the superhero version she had imagined all her life. Not only can she finally relate to him on a human level, but their parallel Resynator journeys reveal an indomitable bond between them.
Produced by: Jon Lullo, Brendan Walter, Kathryn Robson, Sara Nesson, Christopher Noviello, Barbara McDonough & Alison Tavel
Executive Produced By: Grace Potter, Rick Krim
Cinematography by: Justin Key, Max Cutrone, David Yeaman & Beth Cloutier
Animation by: Danny Madden
Score by: Chris Ruggiero
96 minutes / Not Rated / English / Documentary / 2024
Resynator is available to rent/purchase on all major platforms, including AppleTV, Prime Video, Google Play and Fandango At Home.
Source: The Forge