Why We Come Back? (Punk Rock Raduno) [Documentary Review]

The Punk Rock Raduno Festival is approaching its 7th year in the idyllic Italian setting of Bergamo, Lombardy.

The mini-doc, Why We Come Back?, unsurprisingly features footage from last year’s festival to tempt even more fans from around the world to attend. The film mainly comprises talking head interviews from the festival organizers, Andrea and Franz, alongside the official photographer, Ludovica, and various well-selected international regular fans. Enthusiastic contributors include a middle-class punk family from England, complete with young daughter and her friend, alongside fans from Brazil and Germany, and comments from the brilliantly named The Useless 4.

The feeling we get from the film is that the festival is a positive event that approaches punk in the most family-friendly way. The sunny nature, described by Ludovica as “colourful,” is certainly tempting for those in search of music and warmth.

Unfortunately, the film rarely moves on from extreme hagiology, as all involved travel in the same direction of delivering nothing but high praise. The lack of any substantial live footage, bar a short montage at the end with a single (not too punky) track playing, does put a strain on your attention span about halfway through.

Some context is added by the organizers as they describe the event as proof that “Rock n Roll history is connected with small towns… it’s a history of outcasts, it’s a history of the wrong place at the wrong time… it could be Bergamo, it could be any small town.”

Thankfully, the Punk Rock Raduno YouTube channel does feature a whole bunch of live performances from past festivals, which provide perhaps a greater incentive for travelling to Italy in search of fun. The documentary certainly feels like it is something for those already familiar with the event to use as a tool for nostalgia and reminiscence.

Why We Come Back? (Punk Rock Raduno) movie poster

The festival runs from July 11-14, 2024. Get details and tickets here, punkrockraduno.com.

Director: No Elevator Studio
Producer: No Elevator studio
Starring: The Useless 4
Distributed by: Punk Rock Raduno
Release Date: December 21, 2023
Run Time: 21 minutes