Damon's fans to go Bananaz for rare showing of Gorillaz movie

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He has sold more than 30million records, filled hundreds of stadia around the world and churned out 25 albums covering every genre from Britpop to African beats.

But a behind-the-scenes documentary into one of Damon Albarn's biggest musical projects - the virtual band Gorillaz - is not getting a cinema release.

Virtual success: cartoon band Gorillaz playing at the 2006 Brit Awards.

London fans will get their only chance to see the film, called Bananaz, on the big screen when it opens the Notting Hill Film Festival tomorrow.

Man behind the mask: Damon Albarn

There has been a surge of interest in Albarn following the reunion of Blur for performances in Hyde Park and at Glastonbury and his theatrical project with ground-breaking company Punchdrunk at the Manchester International Festival, which began last week.

Bananaz follows Gorillaz for six years from its earliest days, when no one knew whether the cartoon band dreamed up by Albarn and animated by comic book artist Jamie Hewlett would be a success. It was directed by Ceri Levy, a friend who made Starshaped, a 1993 documentary about Blur.

Mr Levy's new work premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and has since been seen at festivals including Edinburgh. But a "premiere" on website babelgum.com in April designed to give public access scuppered its chances of a broader cinema release.

Kensington Odeon will host Bananaz tomorrow - the venue is the festival base - but the chain was among cinemas who refused to screen it. A spokeswoman said: "The film had an online premiere and that went towards the decision as to why it wouldn't be screened. It was already out there."

Mr Levy said: "It's kind of weird but in this day and age cinemas don't want to spend money on anything if it doesn't have explosions and battles and isn't a sure fire hit. People should be able to see films that are slightly obscure or left of centre. It's a tragic shame - and Bananaz looks fantastic on a cinema screen. It's nice to do the Notting Hill festival."

The west London neighbourhood was where Mr Levy began recording in 2000, when he would often have coffee in Albarn and Hewlett's homes. He continued filming on a "beg, steal or buy" basis. "I filmed all the tours around the world by jumping on the tour bus so it became part of the tour expenses," he said.

The 90-minute film includes footage of stars from actor Dennis Hopper to Ibrahim Ferrer of the Buena Vista Social Club working with Albarn and Hewlett on Gorillaz. The festival presents British films and has question and answer sessions with film-makers. It runs until 16 July.

 

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