Director Amy Berg’s new documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley is hitting theaters Friday, and it’s been a long time coming.
The director has been interested in making a doc about the late artist Jeff Buckley since 2006, telling ABC Audio that she was a fan of his critically acclaimed debut album, Grace.
“I just loved the album and I felt there was an enigma about Jeff that just kind of piqued my curiosity,” she says.
Buckley was the son of ’70s singer/songwriter Tim Buckley and was often compared to his father, although he didn’t really have a relationship him. He was raised by his mother, and Berg says that family dynamic was something she wanted to explore in the film. She notes she wanted to help explain “how that turned into Jeff Buckley, the voice and the album that we all know so well.”
Berg says that when it came to Jeff’s music, “there was so much personal intelligence in his lyrics and songs,” adding that one of the biggest misconceptions about him is “how he became who he was.”
“I think his music is on such a plateau,” she says. “He’s your favorite musician’s favorite musician.”
Buckley died in 1997 at age 30, as he was beginning to work on his sophomore album. But despite the sad end, Berg says she hopes Buckley’s story will inspire viewers.
“I would like for people to watch this film and find their own creative spirit,” she says. “That’s the best possible, you know, reaction to this film.”
“And I know it is sad, but it’s also uplifting if you look at it in that way,” she says. “So I think that’s the thing to embrace here.”
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