STILL BILL
Q&A with directors Damani Baker and Alex Vlack; Co-presented with SXSW Film Festival
Buy TicketsDescription from the Silverdocs catalogue:
Singer-songwriter Bill Withers had an unusual path to musical acclaim. He was born an asthmatic stutterer and was often told “you can’t do nuthin’.” He didn’t own a guitar until he was 32 years old, the same year he started his musical career—while keeping his job fabricating toilets for Weber Aircraft, just in case. His first album, 1971’s Just as I Am, came with a hit single, Ain’t No Sunshine, which hit No. 3 on the pop charts. He followed this auspicious start with a string of hits, including Lean on Me, Use Me and Grandma’s Hands. Nine Grammy nominations also rolled in during the next 15 years, with three wins. And then, in 1985, Bill Withers just stopped. He didn’t fade entirely from public view—he was inducted into the Songwriting Hall of Fame in 2005—but there were no more albums from this prolific artist. This film, which takes its name from Withers’s second album, helps answer the questions about who Bill Withers is and where he’s been since his music career ended. The filmmakers travel with Withers as he visits his hometown of Slab Fork, West Virginia, to see an old friend and make a trip to the overgrown African-American cemetery there. He goes to his high school reunion, attends a tribute concert held for him and visits his old Navy buddies, all with filmmaker in tow. A picture of Withers emerges: a family man, a musical perfectionist, a man ready for his next act. We get a front-row seat as he considers what it means for him to return to making music. The scenes where he talks about his life with Cornel West and Tavis Smiley? Bonus tracks!
Director: Damani Baker and Alex VlackRunning time: 78 minutes
Release date: 2009
Screened: FALL 2009 October 20, 2009 8:00 pm
Related Blog Posts: STF hosts STILL BILL
Tell a friend about this film
Join the STF Mailing List »
Upcoming Screenings
Mar 16: DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY
by Jim McBrideThis landmark work blending fiction and reality made a deep impression on the 1970s generation of filmmakers. STF is pleased to show this rare big screen appearance, accompanied by a Q&A with the ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Apr 6: AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE
by Steven SoderberghAND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE provides an intimate portrait of master monologist Spalding Gray, as described by his most critical, irreverent and insightful biographer: Spalding Gray. Director Steven ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Apr 13: HORSES
by Liz MerminAn unusual, beautifully detailed documentary following a year in the lives of three charismatic Irish racehorses. Ireland’s horse-racing culture has produced some of the finest athletes in the ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Apr 14: FAMILY AFFAIR
by Chico ColvardWednesday Night Special Description from Sundance catalogue: At 10 years old, Chico Colvard shot his older sister in the leg. This seemingly random act detonated a chain reaction that exposed ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Apr 20: THE KIDS GROW UP
by Doug BlockIn his previous documentary, the internationally acclaimed 51 BIRCH STREET, Doug Block looked at his parents’ seemingly ordinary marriage and uncovered a universal story about an archetypal, ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Apr 27: CLEANFLIX
by Andrew James and Joshua LigairiDescription from Toronto International Film Festival catalogue: Mormons can be movie lovers too. The problem is that their religious leaders strongly discourage R-rated content. As one Mormon ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
May 4: PIN GODS
by Larry LockeInspired by the record breaking accomplishments of Walter Ray Williams, Jr., the reigning professional bowler of the year, three newcomers set out to chase their own dreams of pro bowling greatness. ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
May 11: LIFE 2.0
by Jason Spingarn-KoffDescription from Sundance catalogue: Every day, across all corners of the globe, hundreds of thousands of users log onto Second Life, a virtual online world not entirely unlike our own. They enter ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
May 18: MY PERESTROIKA
by Robin HessmanDescription from Sundance catalogue: The Bolshevik revolution, the cold war, and the collapse of the Soviet Union defined the history of the twentieth century. With such a past, what does it mean ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
May 25: MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA
by Dziga VertovSoviet director Dziga Vertov’s experimental film grew out of his belief, shared by his editor, Elizaveta Svilova (who was also his wife), and his cinematographer, Mikhail Kaufman (also his brother), ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Jun 1: HAYNESVILLE
by Gregory KallenbergHAYNESVILLE: A Nation’s Hunt for Energy takes place in the Louisiana backwoods, and follows the momentous discovery of the largest natural gas field in the United States (and maybe the world). The ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Jun 8: CLOSING NIGHT FILM: TBA
by ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
