Willie Nelson’s life and career is at the center of a new documentary.
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Willie Nelson and Family is set to debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah, taking place January 19-23. Filmmakers Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman cover Nelson’s more than 70-year career throughout the documentary.
The film is described in a press release as “an intimate and cinematic memoir of the Red Headed Stranger, traversing the highs, lows and in-betweens of Nelson’s personal life and professional career. Alongside close friends and family who have accompanied him on a remarkable journey, Nelson tells his story in his own voice.” The project will feature interviews with Nelson and his family and friends, in addition to footage from his career archives that chronicle his upbringing in Texas, advocacy for marijuana and American farmers through his annual Farm Aid and much more.
Willie Nelson and Family was developed by Nelson’s manager Mark Rothbaum and Keith Wortman, founder of production company Blackbird Presents. The film is being billed as the “first authorized work exploring the life” of the music legend. His wife, Annie Nelson, is one of the executive producers.
Nelson most recently appeared on screen as part of Dolly Parton’s 2022 Mountain Magic Christmas special, which aired on NBC. He also scored multiple nominations at the 2023 Grammy Awards for Best Country Album for A Beautiful Time, Best Roots Gospel Album for The Willie Nelson Family, Best Country Solo Performance for “Live Forever” and Best Country Song for “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die,” written by Chris Stapleton and Rodney Crowell. The Grammy Awards air live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
In 2023, Nelson will perform at the Outlaws and Legends Music Fest on April 1, weeks before his 90th birthday on April 29.
Photo by Pamela Springsteen / Shock Ink
