Heaven Adores You
| Heaven Adores You | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Nickolas Rossi |
| Produced by | Nickolas Rossi JT Gurzi Kevin Moyer Marc Smolowitz |
| Starring | Elliott Smith |
| Cinematography | Nickolas Rossi JT Gurzi |
| Edited by | Eli Olson Nickolas Rossi |
| Music by | Elliott Smith (songs) Kevin Moyer (score) |
Production companies | Blowback Pictures Heaven Adores You Zoetrope Aubry Prod. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Heaven Adores You is a 2014 documentary about the life and music of indie rock singer-songwriter Elliott Smith (1969-2003). It premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival on May 5, 2014.[1]
Synopsis
The film focuses on Smith's life in the three cities he lived in during his music career (Portland, New York and Los Angeles),[2] highlighted by his five solo albums from 1994-2000 and his 1998 Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Miss Misery" in Good Will Hunting.[3] It features personal photos, concert footage, and recorded conversations and interviews with Smith, his friends and collaborators.[3] Participants include Smith's sister Ashley, Jon Brion, Larry Crane, Tony Lash, Joanna Bolme, Rob Schnapf, and Kill Rock Stars founder Slim Moon.[3][4][5] In addition to having at least one song from each of his albums,[6] the track listing contains over a dozen previously unreleased Elliott Smith songs, spanning the length of his career.[2] Heaven Adores You is the first documentary to gain permission to use Smith's music.[4]
Production
Director Nickolas Rossi first became familiar with Smith’s music in the mid-‘90s while living in Portland. He started contemplating making a documentary about him in 2007 after receiving positive response from a short tribute video he shot at the Figure 8 wall, following Smith’s death in 2003.[7] In the fall of 2009 fellow filmmaker Jeremiah Gurzi teamed up with Rossi and in January, 2010 they traveled to Portland. In 2011, a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign was launched to raise awareness of the film and to help supplement the initial funds needed to officially start the project.[8] Following the successful launch, they received an email from Kevin Moyer, who attended the same high school as Smith, offering to help. Moyer came on as a producer and music supervisor, and arranged many of the interviews.[9] A majority of the shooting took place in 2012. By the fall of 2013 longtime colleague and multi-award winning veteran producer Marc Smolowitz officially joined the team, helping steward the project through post-production and to a prominently placed world premiere at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival.[10] After a year-long global festival run, the film was acquired by Eagle Rock Entertainment for worldwide distribution in the summer of 2015.[11]
Reception
The San Francisco Bay Guardian described the film as "an artfully crafted study of a unique talent."[12] Way Too Indie called it "a tasteful, haunting portrait,"[7] while Ground Control magazine praised it as "a celebration of the fullness of the life [Smith] lived."[13]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Elliott Smith
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Untitled Guitar Finger Picking [1983]" | |
| 2. | "Untitled Melancholy Song [1993]" | |
| 3. | "Don't Call Me Billy [early version of "Fear City"] [1993]" | |
| 4. | "Christian Brothers [performed with Heatmiser] [1995]" | |
| 5. | "Hamburgers [performed with Neil Gust] [1995]" | |
| 6. | "Plainclothes Man [Elliott solo version] [1996]" | |
| 7. | "Unknown Song (instrumental) [1994]" | |
| 8. | "Say Yes [live at Yo Yo Festival 1997] [1997]" | |
| 9. | "Unknown (instrumental) [1994]" | |
| 10. | "Coast to Coast [early version] [1995-96]" | |
| 11. | "Waltz #1 (demo) [1997]" | |
| 12. | "Untitled Soft Song in F [1993]" | |
| 13. | "True Love [2001]" | |
| 14. | "Miss Misery [live on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien"] [1998]" | |
| 15. | "L.A. [1999]" | |
| 16. | "Son of Sam (acoustic) [1999]" | |
| 17. | "The Last Hour [early version] [1999]" | |
| 18. | "Everything Means Nothing to Me [1999]" | |
| 19. | "Happiness (single version) [1999]" | |
| 20. | "I Love My Room [1984-85]" |
References
- ^ Jonathan Kiefer and Sherilyn Connelly, “No No Is a Good Thing: Your Guide to Navigating This Year’s San Francisco International Film Festival,” SF Weekly, April 23, 2014.
- ^ a b Miriam Coleman, “Elliott Smith Documentary Unearths New Unreleased Songs,” Rolling Stone, May 24, 2014.
- ^ a b c Josh Terry, “Elliott Smith documentary Heaven Adores You to feature unreleased music, photos,” Consequence of Sound, April 1, 2014.
- ^ a b Evan Minsker, “Elliott Smith Film Heaven Adores You Teaser Released,” Pitchfork Media, April 30, 2014.
- ^ Erik Adams, “Watch the trailer for the Elliott Smith documentary Heaven Adores You,” The A. V. Club, May 1, 2014.
- ^ Katie Rose Quandt, “Elliott Smith: ‘It’s Just, I Like Music, You Know’,” Mother Jones, May 12, 2014.
- ^ a b Bernard Boo, “Nickolas Rossi On Honoring the Musical Legacy of Elliott Smith,” Way Too Indie, May 14, 2014.
- ^ Dan Reilly, “Elliott Smith Film to Include New Songs, Unseen Footage,” Spin, April 1, 2014.
- ^ Logan Lynn, “Heaven Adores You, Elliott Smith: An Interview with Filmmakers Nickolas Dylan Rossi and Kevin Moyer” Huffington Post , September 2, 2014.
- ^ Evan Minsker, “Elliott Smith Film Heaven Adores You to Feature Unheard Music, Lost Footage, Interviews With Collaborators Premiering at the San Francisco International Film Festival” Pitchfork Media, April 1, 2014.
- ^ Eagle Rock Press Release, “Eagle Rock Entertainment Acquires Worldwide Rights to Elliott Smith Documentary “Heaven Adores You” -- Partners with SpectiCast on Global Theatrical Release, beginning May 7th, 2015,” SpectiCast, March 24, 2015.
- ^ Cheryl Eddy, “Reel-ality,” San Francisco Bay Guardian, April 22, 2014.
- ^ Daryl Barnett, “Reviews: Elliott Smith – Film,” Ground Control, May 16, 2014.
- ^ http://www.craveonline.com/music/886235-elliott-smith-heaven-adores-you-the-stories-photos-behind-the-songs