
“You’d Be Surprised How Happy People Are to Talk About the Best Times in Their Lives”: Elegance Bratton on His Sundance-Debuting Doc, Move Ya Body: The Birth of House

“A good party knows no fucking sexual orientation, no race, no socioeconomic background,” notes Vince Lawrence, the very first person to record a house song and the main protagonist in Elegance Bratton’s Sundance-debuting Move Ya Body: The Birth of House. That a global movement could be traced back to a rather nerdy Black youngster raised in the segregated world of Mayor Daley’s Chicago is just one surprising element in this lovingly crafted music history lesson. (Less surprising is the number of white folks who would also like to take credit.) But perhaps most remarkable is that through a combination of eye-catching archival imagery, dance floor beats, a wealth of interviews with the sound’s pioneering artists and DJs – and even reenactments – Bratton has managed to create a time capsule of an all-inclusive community, while keeping the party going loud and proud onscreen.
The week before the doc’s January 26th (Premieres section) Sundance debut, Filmmaker caught up with the director-writer-producer-photographer, who was last on the festival circuit with his TIFF-premiering 2022 narrative feature The Inspection.
Filmmaker: Your director’s statement begins with “Growing up, I found myself drawn to nightclubs that were often out of reach for someone my age and means. I still remember the thrill of stepping into The Limelight at just 15.” As a former club kid who used to call Limelight my home away from home (or my church, literally and figuratively) I could relate. I found the film riveting even though I was never into house, which made me curious to hear if it was this community/safe haven aspect, or the story of the music itself, that first drew you to the project.
Bratton: I came up when you had to go out to find out who you are, and to find your tribe. Today I do a lot of that work with my smartphone, but back then you needed the music to find the culture.
For me, music and culture are both one and the same. Before I started going out it was a straight white man’s world and I was just living in it, trying not to be too Black, too queer, or too femme. You know, you just tried your very best to go unnoticed. At night queer people went out to be seen! I remember how powerful house music made us feel, and this film was a way for me to interrogate that power’s ability to free other people.
Once I met Vince I knew that I had a way in. I’d heard of Disco Demolition (Night) before, but didn’t know it was directly connected to the birth of house music. At 14, Vince became an usher at Chicago’s Comiskey Park with a dream of becoming a dance musician. On that infamous night, 50,000 white people made it a point to spit on, trample upon, and blow up the style of music Vince dreamt of making one day. They wanted to kill Black music forever, but really they wanted to remind Black folks of their place in society.
Little did they know that Vince was going to save up the money for that synthesizer, and only a few years later record the first house song. From that song a multibillion dollar genre was born. Vince’s story had all sorts of dark edges like most people’s coming of age stories. His revolved around the moments making the music that would inspire future generations. Each time they were told no by the system they wrote an iconic song. Those songs changed the world.
You don’t really see films like Move Ya Body. Inner city Black youth offer light to the world; house music proves it. This story is so right now. Every SoundCloud, TikTok, and the entire EDM genre is descended from Chicago house music and the culture that surrounds it. House music is everywhere. Move Ya Body: The Birth of House tells you how it all came to be.
Filmmaker: Could you talk a bit about the reenactments as well? Why did you decide to go this route?
Bratton: Re-enactments are tricky and they’ve gotten a bad rap. So I knew I had to have an approach that would avoid the pitfalls of what we see in genres like true crime. I’m a big believer in the power of a person sitting down and telling their story, but I didn’t want Move Ya Body to rely solely on the sit-down interview. This is a film mainly about people remembering the good and bad of their youth. I needed to push myself to find images to communicate that truth wherever I could.
These moments are approached with the same process I apply to any fiction film I would make. We had production designer Tommy Love (The Inspection) and costume designer Derick Cole Washington (Zola) to help us design the world of the film. Most of the interviews are shot on the sets Tommy built for these recreations.
The film intentionally blurs the line between present and past. This way the recreation exists as an extension of memory. Additionally, I always knew that I would be intercutting this footage with archival. My cinematographer Lisa Rinzler (Dead Presidents, Buena Vista Social Club) has an incredible history making docs and fiction films, so she was able to help build the camera/lighting plan to make it all work.
Filmmaker: How did you gain the trust of all these key characters? Since you’re a New Yorker, and not a Chicagoan, were folks wary of participating?
Bratton: Well, I’m from a lot of places, so I know how to get in and fit in wherever I find myself. Move Ya Body is about carefree youth and having fun. House music touched and changed everyone in Chicago. You’d be surprised how happy people are to talk about the best times in their lives. Try it: Ask a stranger to tell you about the best party they’d ever been to and see what happens.
Again, I must thank Vince Lawrence. Vince is a son of Chicago. He went out of his way to help the production build bridges with the Chicago community. It also doesn’t hurt that many of these musicians have made some of my favorite songs. I’m genuinely into their work, and artists love their fans.
Filmmaker: How did you find all the archival material? What was the editing process like?
Bratton: The edit took about a year. Our archival producer Caitlin Rigsbee is incredible. I also have to say thank you to our editors Kristan William Sprague and Jeremy Stulberg. I loved having a narrative and a documentary editor. It was great mixing both styles to tell the story. With the archive we wanted it to feel like you are there. It’s not meant to be descriptive, but experiential. And the archive is sound designed as well.
Filmmaker: Has everyone seen the final film or rough cuts? What’s been the reactions?
Bratton: The Sundance screening will be the first time people outside of the edit will see the film. Wish us luck!