Jimi Hendrix Biopic Starring André 3000 Among SXSW 2014 Films
Following its premiere at the Toronto Film festival last September, All Is By My Side – the Jimi Hendrix biopic starring Outkast's André 3000 as the guitar icon – is one of many music films that will receive their U.S. debuts during South by Southwest's film festival in March, according to Billboard. The film focuses on the period between Hendrix's start as a New York City backing musician to the time right before his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
Director and writer John Ridley, who wrote the screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, conceived the story eight years ago after hearing Hendrix's "Sending My Love to Linda." Wanting to know more about Linda – spoiler alert: she's one of Keith Richards's ex-girlfriends who befriended Hendrix – he set about researching Hendrix's life and decided to focus on the years 1966 and 1967. Despite Ridley's passion for the project, the late guitarist's estate would not sign off on using any Hendrix music in the film; instead, the film features music by Muddy Waters, the Beatles and the Troggs, among others.
Ridley has said he only considered André 3000 for the role. In turn, the Outkast member said in the movie's production notes, "I listened to hours of interviews. I watched films – watched his mannerisms."
Other notable music-related films premiering at South by Southwest include Rubber Soul, which reconstructs interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty, the Swedish House Mafia doc Leave the World Behind and the A$AP Rocky pic SVDDXNLY. The festival will also premiere several music documentaries, including Deep City about the early days of soul in South Florida, The Case of the Three Sided Dream, a profile of jazz saxophonist and flautist Rahsaan Roland Kirk and The Winding Stream, which chronicles the stories of famous country families the Carters and the Cashes, among others.
The festival will also be screening several movies that received premieres elsewhere. Among them are God Help the Girl, by Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch, and Supermensch, comedian Mike Myers's profile of Alice Cooper, Blondie and Luther Vandross manager Shep Gordon.
The South by Southwest website lists all of the films appearing at the festival, which runs from March 7 to March 16.
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