There are some happy news on the Elliott Smith front. First of all Nickolas Rossi’s very anticipated documentary will have its world premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival on May 5th. According to the film website ‘Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith (1969 – 2003). By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense, yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in — Portland, New York City, Los Angeles — Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer’s prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends, and fellow musicians.’
But don’t expect a repeat of Gil Reyes’ 2009 documentary about the singer-songwriter, in which Jennifer Chiba, Smith’s last girlfriend, had played a major role in the last part… this time there is no focus on Elliott’s tragic death as Nickolas Rossi declared to Pitchfork:
‘Heaven Adores You came about over many years. I wanted to build on the love that the fans had for Elliott. I wanted to do something that honored his contributions to the music scene, to the global community, and to my own personal journey. The circumstances around Elliott’s death created a very tight circle amongst his friends. Everyone else seemed to want to pry into the sensational darkness surrounding his death.
What if we could make something about the life and music of Elliott Smith, instead of just focusing on his death? If we could make something that looked at his incredible talent as an accomplished musician and poet, instead of his struggles exacerbated by well-deserved fame? What if we could make something where Elliott was able to narrate the journey of his life and have his friends support his incredible story?
Heaven Adores You aims to be just that: A visual, melodic love letter of sorts to a musical genius, in the environments that he knew best: Portland, New York, and Los Angeles. By having Elliott guide us himself, via recorded conversations and interviews, I am hopeful that he can tell his own story once and for all, surrounded by the people who loved him dearly.’
I see what he means, but for me, as for many others, Elliott’s unsolved death will always be the elephant in the middle of the room, you can’t ignore it, or it may jump at your face at any moment. But this attitude really paid off as many interesting people got involved in the project such as the Largo crowd, Jon Brion and Mark Flanagan, the other girlfriend, Joanna Bolme, photographer and friend Autumn de Wilde, ex-manager Margaret Mittleman, and even family member, Elliott half-sister Ashley Welch. All these people had denied participating in Reyes’ first movie and interestingly, are not featured in W.T. Schultz’ recent and ‘major’ biography, so great job there! Plus, and that’s a big one, according to producer Kevin Moyer, it’s the first film to be allowed to use Elliott Smith’s music, and the movie will even feature unheard songs! This is a big deal and fans are really interested to say the least, by this last one.
North California is very lucky as there will be two more screenings of Heaven Adores You’ in San Francisco on May 7th and 8th, whereas Canadians will have a taste of the film during the Canadian Music Film Festival on Saturday 10th. Go to the Heaven Adores You website for more details.
In related news, it seems that a coffee shop will open this summer/fall in the same building that is home to the Sunset boulevard Figure 8 mural, or if you prefer, the Elliott Smith memorial. Ben Hantoot and his wife want to open there ‘Dinosaur Coffee’ but fans should not worry as the mural will be kept intact. ‘Fans and locals can rest assured that nothing will happen to this iconic mural, I wouldn’t want to cause a riot! Figure 8 was a big part of my high school experience, as I think it was for lots of people our age,’ declared Michelle Hantoot to the East Sider LA. Plus the repair shop called Solutions Audio will still operate, next to the coffee shop. That’s fine with me, it may even attract more people who may or may not know about the story of the mural, and I hope the new coffee shop owners will bring attention to it.