Click here to listen to the interview.
Stephen Kijak and crew at the Frameline world premiere of SID AND JUDY, San Francisco, 6/27/19
It was not Stephen Kijak’s intention to rehabilitate Sid Luft’s reputation when he made SID AND JUDY. I asked him about that midway through our conversation on June 28, 2019 the day after his doc’s triumphant world premiere at Frameline. We went on to talk about what he had to leave out in telling a story, but not THE story, of Judy’s life; the magic of finding the right editing; and how involved Judy’s kids were with the making of the doc. We finished up with what made Judy laugh, and Kijak’s take on why she has become a gay icon.
The documentary examines the tumultuous relationship between Judy Garland and her third husband, who was instrumental in the production of both A STAR IS BORN and The Judy Garland Show. Told with photos and recordings not previously made public, it presents an intimate portrait of the couple, and puts the oft-maligned Luft in a new light.
Kijak directed from a script he co-wrote with Claire Didier, and his previous work includes STONES IN EXILE, WE ARE X, and IF I LEAVE HERE TOMORROW: A FILM ABOUT LYNYRD SKYNYRD.
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