Events Calendar

The Petoskey Film Theater will be showing the documentary "Air Guitar Nation" on Friday, January 1, 7:30 pm at the Carnegie Building, Petoskey District Library. Donations are welcome.

Is is a sport? A game? An artform? It may be hard to define, but it's easy to see that air guitar is a lot fo fun and immensely entertaining, and so is director Alexandra Lipsitz's "Air Guitar Nation", an utterly charming documentary about the young men (and a few women) who in 2003 competed both at home and abroad to determine whose "airness" would rule. It's up for debate how serious or ironic its subjects are, but "Air Guitar Nation" is nonetheless a funny and exciting documentary with a killer soundtrack.

A battle of naked ambition played out on the national and, ultimately, world stage, "Air Guitar Nation" chronicles the birth of the US Air Guitar Championships as legions of aspiring rock stars live out their dreams on a quest to become the world champion in a strange world where musical ability plays second fiddle to virtual virtuosity. As the film un-reels, two aspiring rock legends strum and strut their way towards glory and the coveted national title. C. Diddy (David Jung), a samurai warrior clad in a "Hello Kitty" breast plate and red kimono, emerges as an early favorite. But his arch nemesis from the Lower East Side, Bjorn Turoque (Dan Crane), is not far behind. While C. Diddy threatens to unleash his self-professed "Asian Fury" on his competitors, Bjorn vows to take Diddy down.

Full of triumph and disappointment, patriotic spirit and political tension - and, of course, invisible guitars, "Air Guitar Nation" and filmmaker Alexandra Lipsitz take audiences on an inspiring, exhilarating, and ultimately hilarious journey that delves deep to find out what it truly takes to become the best in the world and find the inner meaning of the chant, "Make Air, Not War."