MFF – The Best Summer

Raw, energetic footage captures alternative rock legends before they became household names. Featuring the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps, and Bikini Kill.

In the 1990s, American filmmaker Tamra Davis was married to Mike D of the Beastie Boys when the still up-and-coming band embarked on the Summersault tour across Australia. Joining them were several other emerging punk and alternative acts that had yet to make their breakthrough, including Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Pavement, Beck, The Amps (featuring Kim Deal, later of the Pixies), and Dave Grohl (fresh from Nirvana) with his newly formed band, Foo Fighters.

Davis never intended to make a documentary about the tour. Instead, she casually filmed rehearsals, live performances, backstage moments, and interviews, with Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna emerging as a central figure. The footage alternates between playful antics and more serious reflections. It wasn't until 2025, when Davis rediscovered the box of tapes while evacuating her home during the Los Angeles wildfires, that she decided to turn the material into a film: The Best Summer.

The handheld camerawork may leave you feeling slightly seasick at first, but you quickly adjust. What follows is a fascinating glimpse into the spirit of the early 1990s, when punk and alternative rock were on the rise and a new generation of bands—many of which would go on to become hugely influential—were just beginning to find their voice.