Festival Express is a 2003 documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The film combines live footage shot during the 1970 concerts, as well as footage aboard the train itself, interspersed with present-day interviews with tour participants sharing their often humorous recollections of the events.
The film, released by THINKFilm, was produced by Gavin Poolman (son of the original 1970 film shoot's producer, Willem Poolman) together with John Trapman, and directed by double Grammy Award-winner Bob Smeaton (The Beatles Anthology), with music produced by Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin), and features original footage shot in 1970 by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Peter Biziou (Mississippi Burning, Pink Floyd: The Wall, The Truman Show). The original 1970 footage was filmed by director Frank Cvitanovich. A DVD release followed the film's 2003 theatrical run.
Read more about Festival Express: The Festival, Other Festival Performers, Film Production, Legacy, Miscellany