Montreal maestro Josh "Socalled" Dolgin is more than a musician – he's a curator of good things past and a master of the cultural remix.

At least that's how he appears in "The Socalled Movie," which premieres on Sunday at the Hot Docs film festival.

In 18 fantastical vignettes, the multi-instrumentalist and MC performs at New York's legendary Apollo Theatre, befriends a 66-year-old funk legend and runs a klezmer cruise through Ukraine for a group of senior citizens.

Oh, and he also does magic tricks.

Directed by Garry Beitel, once Dolgin's professor at McGill University, the film gives an intimate and often quirky look at the musician known for eclectic combinations of klezmer, funk and hip-hop.

"His creative process of making music has an archeological sense to it," Beitel told CP24.com in a phone interview last week.

"He is constantly digging for treasures and bringing them back from the past.... transforming them and making them into modern music."

The descendent of Eastern European Jews, Dolgin gravitates to klezmer as way to explore his roots, Beitel said.

Klezmer uses accordions, violins, horns and woodwind instruments to create energetic songs with lilting melodies that often sound like the human voice. Long considered a disappearing art, it has seen a new world revival in recent years.

It was at a Montreal klezmer concert where Beitel revived his relationship with his former student. Dolgin and his father had set up a table soliciting patrons for a klezmer cruise down Ukraine's Dneiper River.

"He chose amongst the most wonderful musicians in the world," said Beitel, describing days and nights filled with concerts, jams, workshops and even a choir class where participants learned traditional Yiddish songs.

"Most of the people were older. They were fascinated by this music that they sort of knew, being played in a place where their parents had come from... The cruise was bringing the music back to where it originated but had almost been wiped out.

"People thought, 'Pinch me, I'm on this cruise I'm going to be telling people about years from now.'"

Beitel had originally planned to film just the cruise but expanded the project upon realizing he had a truly unique subject on his hands.

In addition to his multi-layered compositions, Dolgin also has a knack for "remixing" people; giving new relevance to musicians whose golden age appeared to be long past.

The film tells of how Dolgin met his musical idol, trombonist Fred Wesley -- a former bandmate of James Brown, Maceo Parker and Parliament Funkadelic.

Won over by Dolgin's talent and earnestness, Wesley eventually joins him to form supergroup Abraham Inc., alongside lauded klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer.

"Fred Wesley or David Krakauer, they're not doing Josh any favours," said Beitel, noting Dolgin often tries to downplay his substantial skill set. "They're feeling that it's a privilege to do it. It changes how they play their music, too."

Dolgin and Beitel will be present at the film's two Hot Docs screenings and will take audience questions. In meeting Socalled, viewers can expect to meet a force unlike most others in music today, said Beitel.

"He's funny and charming and nerdy and makes everyone fall in love with him," said Beitel. "And he's doing something that's really transformative."

The Socalled Movie premieres on May 2 at 9 p.m. at the Bloor Cinema. Its second Hot Docs screening is on May 4 at 11:30 a.m. at the ROM Theatre.