Heaven Adores You is a documentary detailing the life and music of Elliott Smith. In an effort to encourage people to stay home, the film has been made freely available for a limited time.
Released in 2014, the film delves into the brilliance of Elliott Smith’s songwriting while also unravelling his troubled, beautiful character.
An Elliott Smith documentary, Heaven Adores You, is available for free streaming on YouTube for a limited time.
Heaven Adores You pays homage to the short-lived excellence of Elliott Smith and his contributions to music. Smith was viewed as a tragic and isolated figure, after his mysterious suicidal death in 2003 at age 34. Instead of painting him as the suffering musician, the documentary film removes him from this sombre status and re-contextualises the setting of his life.
The film smoothly transitions from Smith’s prominence on the Portland post-punk music scene in Heatmiser to the sit-down acoustic singer-songwriter. It captures the various settings and dense places Elliott exposed himself to (Portland, New York City and Los Angeles), which continuously seemed to swallow and undermine him at every turn and corner he took.
Elliott Smith became globally recognised after his stunning performance of Miss Misery, at the 1998 Academy Awards. He was nominated for Best Original Song in the soundtrack to the film, Good Will Hunting.
“Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer’s prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends, and fellow musicians.”
Directed by Nickolas Rossi, the film was initially made possible by a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that was launched in 2011. Heaven Adores You is now available for free streaming on YouTube until tomorrow night (Wednesday, May 20), due in part to the distributor’s efforts to keep people entertained at home while also remembering the poignant songwriting of Elliott Smith and the gorgeous music he left us with.
Check out the YouTube stream below for a limited time below:
The compilation soundtrack to Heaven Adores You features demos and alternate versions of his songs:
