The first time Kier-La Janisse used the Big Smash! moniker was for a one-off event called the Big Smash! Music-on-Film Festival in Vancouver in 2006, with Grammy Award-winning songwriter Paul Williams and festival namesake Wreckless Eric (whose third album is called Big Smash!) in person. This stream of programming extended to a weekly Big Smash! Music Scene series at the Winnipeg Film Group’s Cinematheque from 2007-2008, and since the spring of 2009 through May 2010, Big Smash! Music Scene has operated intermittently at different venues around Winnipeg, often with live music paired to the screenings. 

The series is primarily music documentaries about specific artists, labels or movements, but sometimes stretches to include cult films with a musical bent. The programming is a mix of premieres (including Howard Berger’s A Life in the Death of Joe Meek and Denny Tedesco’s The Wrecking Crew) and obscure repertory titles (such as the Burroughs-inspired German underground film Decoder or Barney Platts-Mills’ suedehead staple Bronco Bullfrog). 

Special thanks to promotional sponsors Into the Music.

The programming committee for Big Smash! Music Scene series is: Kier-La Janisse, Damien Ferland, Cory Chetyrbok and Travis Cole.