From a filmmaker’s perspective, it’s always fortuitous when the name of an artist’s signature work encapsulates the journey that they made in their life and career. What else to call a film about Johnny Cash? “Walk the Line,” of course. A Tina Turner biopic? “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” Aretha Franklin? “Respect,” of course. There’s a reason the forthcoming Bon Jovi docuseries is called “Thank You, Goodnight,” and not “You Give Love a Bad Name.”
A portrait of the disco luminary but not a biopic, “Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive” follows in this estimable tradition. But Betsy Schechter’s documentary — which will get a one-night theatrical release in roughly 800 theaters on Feb. 13 following a healthy festival run — also showcases why that serendipity can come at a greater price to the artist than their film’s marketing prospects: Examining the looming shadow of the singer...
A portrait of the disco luminary but not a biopic, “Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive” follows in this estimable tradition. But Betsy Schechter’s documentary — which will get a one-night theatrical release in roughly 800 theaters on Feb. 13 following a healthy festival run — also showcases why that serendipity can come at a greater price to the artist than their film’s marketing prospects: Examining the looming shadow of the singer...
- 2/13/2024
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
When Gloria Gaynor watched the eponymous feature doc about the last eight years of her life, she thanked the director Betsy Schechter and started to sing a cappella. It was a moment that Schechter said she’d “never forget”.
Gaynor expected to do the same thing when Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive premieres at the Tribeca Festival on Friday.
The film has been a labor of love for Schechter, who runs Storyville Entertainment.
The doc tells Gaynor’s story – a career stalled by health issues and abuse and mismanagement from her now ex-husband – but it focuses on the last few years when she released a new gospel album, Testimony, which won her a second Grammy, 40 years after her first.
It chronicles this comeback journey and highlights the support from her manager Stephanie Gold and what it took to get back to where she is, having earned a psychology degree in her later years.
Gaynor expected to do the same thing when Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive premieres at the Tribeca Festival on Friday.
The film has been a labor of love for Schechter, who runs Storyville Entertainment.
The doc tells Gaynor’s story – a career stalled by health issues and abuse and mismanagement from her now ex-husband – but it focuses on the last few years when she released a new gospel album, Testimony, which won her a second Grammy, 40 years after her first.
It chronicles this comeback journey and highlights the support from her manager Stephanie Gold and what it took to get back to where she is, having earned a psychology degree in her later years.
- 6/8/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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