Janis: Little Girl Blue
Description
When Doc Stories launched in 2015, an electrifying music biopic about the legendary Janis Joplin sent sonic shock waves through the audience. Returning for the 10th anniversary, Amy Berg’s detailed, crisp, and absorbing portrait of a contrarian artist remains a potent reminder of the power of documentary filmmaking. Concert footage and studio sessions are interspersed with Joplin’s personal life and professional triumphs, including her ascent in the Bay Area with Big Brother & the Holding Company. Joplin’s ambitions and insecurities are relayed through personal letters (narrated by Cat Power) interviews with loved ones, and stories from renown artists such as Pink, D.A. Pennebaker, and Melissa Etheridge. Berg deftly distilled an extraordinary volume of archival footage, interviews, never before seen recordings sessions to illuminate the tumultuous development of Joplin’s iconic and primal style. Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the return of an original Doc Stories title on the big screen.
—Jessie Fairbanks
Janis: Little Girl Blue will be offered as a community screening, free and open to the public. Attendees must RSVP for tickets at sffilm.org.
Biographies
Amy Berg is an Oscar- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker. Her debut film Deliver Us From Evil (2006), was nominated for an Academy Award and DGA award. Her follow up feature West of Memphis (2012) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was recognized by BAFTA and the Writers Guild of America. Her narrative debut was Every Secret Thing (2014), starring Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks and Dakota Fanning. She most recently helmed the acclaimed documentary miniseries Phoenix Rising (2022) for HBO.