Instrument

Instrument is a documentary film directed by Jem Cohen about the band Fugazi. The film takes its title from the Fugazi song of the same name, from their 1993 album, In on the Kill Taker. Content Instrument was shot from 1987 through 1998 on super 8, 16mm and video and is composed mainly of footage of concerts, interviews with the band members, practices, tours and time spent in the studio recording their 1995 album, Red Medicine. The film also includes portraits of fans as well as interviews with them at various Fugazi shows around the United States throughout the years. Notable scenes in the film include Fugazi performing for inmates at Lorton Correctional Facility; singer/guitarist Guy Picciotto's performance in a Philadelphia college gym in 1988, where he stuffs himself through a basketball hoop and performs hanging upside down by his legs (filmed by Todd Crespi); and an interview of Guy Picciotto and Ian MacKaye by an 8th grade girl for a Public-access television cable TV show. Background Cohen's relationship with band member Ian MacKaye extends back to the 1970s when the two met in high school in Washington, D.C. When asked what the goal was in making Instrument, Cohen responded: