The Best Summer (2026)

Interesting facts

The Best Summer is a 2026 documentary film directed, produced, and shot by Tamra Davis, with Shelby Meade as producer and Linda Lichter as executive producer. The film documents the Summersault festival tour in Australia in late 1995 and early 1996, featuring performances and backstage footage of bands including the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps, and Bikini Kill. It had its world premiere in the Midnight section at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

Production

At the time of the tour, Davis had recently finished directing Billy Madison (1995). She had also directed music videos for several of the bands on the bill, including Sonic Youth's clips for "100%" and "Bull in the Heather", the latter of which featured Hanna. Davis had recently married Beastie Boys drummer Michael Diamond (Mike D), and joined the tour with her cameras.

Davis shot the footage on Sony Hi8 camcorders throughout the tour but put the unmarked tapes in storage upon returning home. The tapes remained in boxes at her Malibu home for nearly 30 years until she rediscovered them in January 2025 while evacuating during the Palisades fires.

Davis chose not to include present-day interviews or voiceover narration. Kim Gordon, the first person shown the film, advised her to remove planned commentary, telling her not to bring a voice "from the future" into the past. The concert audio comes from the built-in microphone on Davis's camcorder and is largely unaltered, while some post-production cleanup was done on the interview footage using modern audio tools.

Davis self-financed the production to avoid studio notes and maintain creative control, taking feedback only from the musicians themselves.

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