Janis: Little Girl Blue
Most of us are familiar with the iconic Janis Joplin, troubled wild child of the San Francisco music scene of the ‘60s who died tragically of an overdose at the age of 27. Amy Berg goes beyond the legend to present an intimate portrait of a complicated artist, weaving archival material—some of it never seen before—with compelling interviews and Joplin’s reflective letters to friends and family, read with a bright sweetness by Chan Marshall (Cat Power).
Description
Most of us are familiar with the iconic Janis Joplin, troubled wild child of the San Francisco music scene of the ‘60s who died tragically of an overdose at the age of 27. Aiming to understand the woman as much as the musician, documentarian Amy Berg spent seven years creating this intimate portrait of a complicated and contradictory artist. Starting with her childhood in Port Arthur, Texas, where Joplin struggled to fit in and was the victim of bullying, the film explores the roots of Joplin’s musical style and rebellious exuberance as well as her driving need for love and approval. It also revisits a San Francisco that brought both freedom and temptation. Deploying outstanding archival material—some of it never seen before—in addition to compelling interviews with friends and family, Berg gives Joplin her own voice through self-aware, reflective and often hopeful personal letters, read with a bright sweetness by Chan Marshall (Cat Power).
Biographies
Amy Berg was born in Los Angeles. She has written, produced and directed the Academy Award–nominated documentary Deliver Us from Evil about sex abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Church. Her other non-fiction films include West of Memphis, An Open Secret and Prophet’s Prey. She also directed the narrative feature Every Secret Thing.