Last month, it was revealed that a new documentary about System of a Down bandleader and longtime activist Serj Tankian would be arriving in February of this year. Now, the film’s first trailer has arrived – watch that below.
Truth to Power is set to arrive Friday, 19th February and, according to Tankian, follows his journey “through the turbulent intersection of music & activism over 3 decades”. It features footage shot by Tankian and interviews with the bandleader, his System of a Down bandmates, Rick Rubin (who can be seen in the trailer talking to Tankian), Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and more, with a score composed by Tankian himself.
The film was by Garin Hovannisian, who Tankian has previously collaborated with on multiple occasions. The songwriter provided the score for Hovannisian’s 2015 film 1915, along with his 2019 documentary I Am Not Alone. Truth to Power was executive produced by Joe Berlinger, who, among other films, directed Metallica documentary Some Kind of Monster.
Last year, Tankian’s intersecting passions of music and activism were shown once again when he reunited with his System of a Down bandmates for their first new music since 2005 album Hypnotize, releasing the singles ‘Protect the Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’.
The band – whose members are all of Armenian descent – recorded the songs to raise awareness and funds amid conflict in their cultural homeland of Artsakh amid conflict in the region. They were able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Armenia Fund, an organisation that provides humanitarian relief.
Watch the trailer for Truth to Power below.
