Wiz's Weekender (1992) was a film ahead of its time, both in form and content. It engaged with contemporary issues that mainstream media were eager to sensationalise. Consequently, it was branded with an 18 certificate and banned by both the BBC and ITV, never reaching a wider audience. For the past three decades, Weekender has bubbled just below the surface, gaining genuine cult status and influencing a vast network of creators. In the run-up to its thirtieth anniversary filmmakers Tabitha Denholm and Adam Dunlop interviewed people involved in the project. I Am Weekender is built around those conversations.
The programme includes The Damned’s set-smashing performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test and the Sex Pistols' anarchic trip on the Thames. It also features powerful live performances from Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Gang of Four, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Tubeway Army, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soft Cell, The Selecter, Joy Division and the Au Pairs. In addition, there are gems from The New York Dolls, The Fall, Blondie, Pete Shelley, The Police, Devo, X-Ray Spex, Klaus Nomi, Laurie Anderson and many more.
Annie Nightingale CBE was a pioneering British radio and television broadcaster. She was the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 in 1970.