First off, watch the video above. It explains it all!

It Came From Detroit is the ultimate inside look at the Motor City’s internationally renowned “garage rock” scene. Nearly a decade in the making, this feature documentary chronicles the action both before and after the White Stripes rose to fame and brought an international spotlight on the scene. This project has been completely independently funded and produced by director James R. Petix and producer Sarah Babila. The film debuted at festivals in 2009, but it has taken the years since then to secure all of the rights to the more than 40 songs and numerous television clips that are used in the film. With your help, we'll be able to release this groundbreaking film on DVD, and ultimately remaster it in HD and for Blu-ray.

About the Film:

Beginning with the hugely influential 1980s trio The Gories (and stretching back to a legacy that includes the Stooges, the MC5, Destroy All Monsters and more), the bands of the Detroit garage rock music scene are known for two things: having an impeccable knowledge of the history of rock 'n' roll and putting on a raucous live show. It Came From Detroit documents the evolution of the Detroit scene from underground obscurity to international phenomenon. We watch how, as bands such as the White Stripes, the Von Bondies and the Electric Six started to develop a following overseas, journalists and fans around the world started hyping Detroit as “The Next Seattle” -- before the whole thing nearly imploded on itself.

In It Came From Detroit, we discover how that unexpected popularity impacted the musicians' lives as more and more bands signed to major labels, toured the world and got ever closer to super-stardom. Along the way, we find out what happens to a close-knit group of friends when not everyone has the same ideals -- or opportunities.

It Came From Detroit shows how underneath the crumbling shell of that mighty musical city there is still a pulse, and a community of passionate musicians who've dug back into the roots of rock 'n' roll to make it incredibly relevant once again.

About the Filmmakers:

Having graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design and creating the award winning rock-documentary short Tokyo Below, director James R. Petix moved back to his home of metro Detroit to document the scene there. Currently, he’s a commercial editor in Los Angeles working on brands such as Target, Google, Sprint, GM, Ford, Chrysler and Kelloggs at top post houses such as Beast, Arcade and Mirada.

Sarah Babila joined the project in 2004 and jump-started the production. Even though It Came From Detroit was her first film, she organized interviews, tracked down releases, and logged and organized countless hours worth of tape. Without her this film never would have been completed. She currently resides in Ferndale, MI with her two amazing cats.

Press: 

The Stranger Film Review.

The Dumbing of America (music blog) Film Review.

Austin's Live Music Capitol Film Review. 

Detroit Met Blogs Film Review.

Motor City Rocks Interview with James R. Petix.

The Detroiter Film Review and Interview.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why Kickstarter?

From the beginning, making this film has been a labor of love. Since the final cut was completed in 2009, we have been working hard to secure all the releases and licenses for the DVD. In this time we've had about a half-dozen offers to release the film on smaller labels but because people don't really buy DVDs anymore and because they feel like a movie about Detroit is too local, none of them were very appealing.  We felt that even though it meant a lot more work for us, in order to get this out to the fans of these bands in the format they've been asking for, Kickstarter is our best option. 

What is the money for?

Over the course of the making of the film we've personally invested about $30,000 into the film. But this isn't about making that back. Our minimum goal of $15,000 will just pay for costs of remastering and manufacturing the DVDs and other rewards. Any more money we make on top of that will go to making the DVD release better (like a bonus disc of extras, or even a soundtrack). Again, this is a labor of love and we really just want to get this into the hands of fans that I know are out there.

Will there be an HD Version?

When the project was started back in 2002 I had a then state-of-the-art 3-chip Canon GL1 DV camera. Unfortunately that means that as of now the film is stuck in Standard Definition.  If we can meet and exceed our goal to around the $25,000 level we will offer a high quality HD uprezzed version of the film for both download and on Blu-Ray. All the titles will be redone in HD and the film should look great on an HDTV or computer screen. 

Why isn't there any White Stripes music in the film?

We tried, but ultimately Jack felt he couldn't participate in the project. He had nice things to say about it though, and the good news is that there are already a couple of great White Stripes documentaries out there and we've got 29 other really great bands in the film!