The Best Summer
2026

The Best Summer

Rediscovered Hi8 footage drops us straight into 1995, backstage at Australia’s Summersault tour with Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Pavement, Beck and more. Tamra Davis’s camcorder captures the music, fashion and unguarded energy of an alternative culture in full flight.

Director

Tamra Davis

Runtime

84 Minutes

Country

United States

Classification

Unclassified 18+

Shaggy hair, baggy clothes, wraparound sunglasses and glorious low-fi Hi8 video. The Best Summer drops us straight into 1995, backstage at Australia’s Summersault tour with Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Pavement, Beck and a fledgling Foo Fighters. Billy Madison (1995) director Tamra Davis was travelling with then-husband Mike D of Beastie Boys when she turned her camcorder on the musicians around her, capturing performances, conversations, downtime and the chaos in between. Rediscovered three decades later, the footage retains the loose intimacy of a home movie and the thrill of being somewhere you shouldn’t. With no contemporary talking heads interrupting the journey, Davis immerses us in an alternative music culture before smartphones, social media and everyone knowing where the camera is - when some of the era’s defining artists were still young enough to simply hang out together.

“Manna from heaven.”

The Scotsman

“A fascinating insight into these iconic bands in their youth.”

Rolling Stone

Sundance

Sydney

Melbourne

Tribeca

Film Credits

Director

Tamra Davis

Year

2026

Country

United States

Language

English

Type

Feature Documentary

Program Strand

Music on Film

Producer

Tamra Davis

Cinematographer

Tamra Davis

Editor

Jessica Hernandez

Film Source

Madman Entertainment

Genre

Documentary & Music

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