PARADISE LOST Documentary 'Over The Madness' To Premiere At CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Diran Noubar's powerful new documentary "Over The Madness" about U.K. band PARADISE LOST provides unique insights on a rock band and the emergence of the "gothic metal" movement. The documentary referred by SYSTEM OF A DOWN's Serj Tankian as "THE film showing the inception and progression of PARADISE LOST" has already been nominated for some key film festivals this year, including Swansea Bay Film Festival (U.K.),Everglades Film Festival (South Africa) and the Wave Gotik Festival (Germany). The film's world premiere is set for the Cannes Film Festival's Market on Monday, May 21 (Palais D, 11:30 a.m.).

This year, PARADISE LOST are celebrating their 20th anniversary and the release of their 11th album. Along with country mates ANATHEMA and MY DYING BRIDE, the band — named after John Milton's epic 1667 poem — is credited for pioneering gothic metal. Throughout years of creative challenging and musical experimentation, PARADISE LOST have persisted in delivering a densely evocative and richly textured brand of metal. Creating a cult-following in many countries around the world, they have released commercially successful musical masterpieces, selling over two million records. Today, their influence still clearly transpires in the sound of most gothic and heavy metal bands.

Comparably to his critically acclaimed social documentary "Armenia, A Country Under Blockade" (2005),Noubar achieves in-depth analysis of the topic he addresses with "Over The Madness". Through first-hand accounts from the band themselves and many other dramatically influential acts, he follows the band from their native Halifax, U.K. to tour stops in Greece and Mexico, where they are regarded as rock "gods." "This is a thorough and detailed account on one of the most important and influential bands of all time," says Metal Hammer's Dimitris Symeliadis.

In a changing music industry where the proliferation of musical content creates interest in new genres that don't have sufficient audience size to warrant a subculture, "Over The Madness" provides a better understanding of a strong but concealed musical movement of the past twenty years (and counting). "Noubar's work finally opens up the closed doors of a music genre gathering hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide, through his captivating documentary covering both the big picture and smaller, personal stories," states Romuald Boulanger, NRJ Group.