On the heels of the latest musican biopic and documentary fad, comes a fresh Janis Joplin documentary, Janis: Little Girl Blue. Having already launched its brief theatrical run, its debut will be followed-up with an airing on PBS series American Masters, which profiles and takes a deeper look into the lives of influential American cultural artists.
Oscar-nominated director Amy Berg has steered the documentary focused on the hidden and unseen aspects of the Pearl singer's life, with the cooperation and backing of Joplin's family. Berg recently divulged her motive for tackling the documentary while showing admiration for the iconic "Piece of My Heart" singer's impact on music and culture.
"She put women in rock on the map. She literally was the first female rock star and she did it in such a strong way and we're still reaping the benefits of that today," Berg explained to Billboard. "And I think her music is just as relevant today as it was in 1968-69."
Earlier in 2015, the Venice Film Festival saw Janis: Little Girl Blue's theatrical debut while this Friday will mark it's premiere in New York before hitting Los Angeles on Dec. 4, UltimateClassicRock notes. The American Masters broadcast has yet to be detailed but the film's official site lets fans know that they won't have to wait much longer past "early 2016."
"Joplin's own words tell much of the film's story, through a series of letters she wrote to her parents over the years, many of them made public here for the first time (and read by Southern-born indie rock star Cat Power)," the film's synopsis on the official site explains. "This correspondence is only one element of the stunning, previously unseen material Berg discovered during the seven years she has spent working on Janis: Little Girl Blue. New audio and video of Joplin in concert and in the studio ... and even footage from her emotional return to Port Arthur for her 10th high school reunion, add depth and texture to this remarkable story."
