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by Jason Leaf for FILMbutton

A conventional but exhilarating look at the legendary prog-rock band RUSH has been among the most buzzed-about films at the Tribeca Film Festival and is screening as a Special Presentation on the opening night of Hot Docs.

Featuring incredibly rare footage (including a high school-age Alex Lifeson explaining to his parents why he is quitting high school to become a musician) and a great deal of cooperation from the band members themselves, this film is the definitive portrait of a musical group that has been marginalized and misunderstood throughout their careers, from their early days playing to high school audiences through their latest world tour, playing to 60,000+ fans in countries where they had never played during their 40 year career.

This situation also is remedied by interview footage of more “successful” musicians, like Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Jack Black, Billy Corgan, Vinnie Paul of Pantera and many more, who all heap praise (and a few backhanded compliments) but never fail to show their love for the enigmatic power trio.

Directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn, who received very positive reviews for there debut doc Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey and the follow up Global Metal. They also just received a 2010 Juno Award for Music DVD of the Year for their documentary FLIGHT 666, where they followed the heavy metal band Iron Maiden around the world.

Jason Leaf has worked in many aspects of the film industry, from pre-production to distribution and every stage in between. Currently he is the President of Avatar Films, a distribution company based in New York City.