CANNES: Content taking Amy Berg's Janis Joplin doc to market

Content Film has secured worldwide sales to Amy Berg’s upcoming Janis Joplin documentary and will introducing the film to buyers at the Cannes market this month.

Berg, who has made feature documentaries including Deliver Us From Evil and West of Memphis, will direct and produce Janis: Little Girl Blue.

Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side and The Armstrong Lie, is producing under his Jigsaw Productions banner with Jeff Jampol from JAM, Inc. Billy McMillin is editing.

Currently in production, the documentary aims to strip away Joplin’s rock’n’roll persona to reveal the woman behind the legend through rare and never-before-seen footage.

The singer, who performed at Monterey Pop in 1967, Woodstock in 1969, and Festival Express in 1970, died aged 27. The doc will include interviews with her family, friends and rock star contemporaries as well as a soundtrack of her greatest hits such as Cry Baby, Mercedes Benz and Piece of My Heart.

Director Amy Berg said: “I’m thrilled that I have the opportunity to tell Janis’ story. She’s an amazing rock icon who paved the way for generations of women to come. We have a great producing team coming together to make this film and I hope we make her proud.”

Executive producers are Noah Haeussner, Susan Lacy, Michael Kantor and Michael Raimondi. The film is a co-production of Disarming Films, Jigsaw Productions and Thirteen Productions LLC’s American Masters in association with Sony Music Entertainment and UEG (Union Entertainment Group).

The film will have its US broadcast premiere on PBS series American Masters.

Other titles that Content will be shopping at Cannes include Jimi: All Is By My Side, directed by John Ridley and starring Andre Benjamin which premiered in Toronto; family adventure Pudsey: The Movie; supernatural horror Dark Summer directed by Paul Solet; horror The Diabolical starring Ali Larter; Steve McQueen documentary The Man & Le Mans; Dan Bush’s supernatural heist thriller The Trust; and Caradog James’ psychological thriller Don’t Knock Twice.