Silverdocs, the annual documentary film festival sponsored by the American Film Institute and Discovery Channel, begins tonight at the AFI Silver Theatre up in Silver Spring. Tonight’s opening feature, as we previewed on Friday, is Don’t Stop Believing: Everyman’s Journey.
As its title suggests, Ramona Diaz’s film tracks the path of Arnel Pineda, a Filipino singer who was plucked from obscurity to become the new lead singer of Journey after the band’s guitarist, Neal Schon, stumbled across YouTube videos of Pineda belting out Steve Perry-esque covers of Journey’s greatest hits. At the time, Pineda was fronting a tribute group called Zoo. Schon was impressed by Pineda’s vocal range and flew him in to audition.
Reviewing the film last week, DCist’s Pat Padua wrote:
The rise from cover band obscurity to fronting a veteran rock act is the meat of this documentary, but that inspirational arc peaks 15 minutes into a two-hour film. The band is where the money is, and the marquee name threatens to derail the proceedings but never quite succeeds. Don’t Stop Believing is inspiring despite issues with pacing, which will be more pronounced for those not inclined to think about Journey. Fortunately, Pinoy director Ramona Diaz, whose previous film was a 2005 documentary about Imelda Marcos, brings it back to Pineda and his roots.
When Silverdocs begins tonight, the festival will follow the screening of Don’t Stop Believing with a panel discussion moderated by the Post’s Chris Richards.
Joining RIchards will be Diaz; the film’s producer, Capella Fahoome; Silverdocs director Sky Sitney; AFI president Bob Gazzale; Pineda, who will be joining via Skype; and Schon.
But with Schon’s scheduled attendance comes quite the social wild card. Will he be escorted by his current significant other? That would be, of course, none other than Michaele Salahi, a onetime Real Housewife and estranged wife of Tareq Salahi, the noted equestrian, phony wine merchant and—most recently—candidatefor governor of Virginia.
Obviously, the audience will want to hear from Schon his retelling of how he discovered Pineda. But won’t his entanglement with the Salahis be on the back of everyone’s mind? When Michaele Salahi is in attendance, trouble sometimes follows. Tareq Salahi is currently suing her for $50 million over their separation. Maybe he’ll show up, too, seeking out Virginia residents to back his nascent gubernatorial run.
And—hold on, hold on, hold on—what would an opening night be without a party? After the screening, Silverdocs is throwing a bash across the street at the Fillmore Silver Spring. It’s not the White House, but it could be easier to sneak into.
And no, our memory of the Salahis’ crashing of that 2009 state dinner will never end. It will just, one might say, go on and on and on and on.
