The Best SUmmer / Co-Producer

Filmmaker Tamra Davis arrives at Sundance with The Best Summer, an electric time capsule shot entirely from her point of view during a 1995–96 tour with some of the most influential bands in modern music. Rediscovered decades later, her raw footage immerses audiences on the road with Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, The Amps, and Bikini Kill as they tear across Australia and Southeast Asia.

Armed only with a handheld camera, Davis slides through backstage corridors, onto buses, into hotel rooms, and straight onto the stage—capturing a rare, unfiltered intimacy that feels impossible today. Long, drifting shots place viewers shoulder-to-shoulder with the artists, while candid conversations with Kim Gordon, Dave Grohl, and others reveal their world behind the noise.

A young woman director at a time when there were few, Davis earned a trust that permeates every frame. Revisiting the footage decades later, she found not just a film, but a memory preserved.

The Best Summer is both a document of a vibrant moment in music and a call to action for the next generation of filmmakers: pick up a camera, trust your instincts, and begin.

Previous
Previous

Ed O'Brien / Blue Morpho

Next
Next

Caddis Eye Appliances