Sois là pour m'aimer - La tragique vie du chanteur folk Townes van Zandt

I just returned from watching this documentary at the Seattle film festival, and it was wonderful. It should be required viewing for fans of Townes, and it's highly recommended for anyone interested in the phenomenon of an artist giving over his life completely to his art. The director does a great job of presenting the balance between the often tragic events and circumstances of his life and Townes' wonderful sense of humor. There are some bits, musical and otherwise, that Townes fans will probably already have seen, but quite a bit of new footage as well. The director was given access to a wealth of material to put together into this glimpse of the complicated life of Townes, and the interviews done specifically for this film were extremely well done. Some of my favorite bits: Previously unpublished outtakes to the wonderful film Heartworn Highways, showing a much younger Townes. Fascinating sound clips from a box of taped phone conversations, taken by a journalist over a six year time period. Great filmed interviews of Townes's children, including a very spooky clip of Katie Bell, his young daughter, recounting a dream she had about her father that ended in a gravestone being made. And very interview segments with his friends and fellow musicians, notably Guy Clarke. The film goes into general release in the states in December, and a DVD will follow a couple of months after that.