Darlene Love Doc Premieres at Toronto Festival — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Darlene Love is the subject of "Darlene Love: I Know Where I've Been," premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, directed by Barry Avrich and produced by Taraji P. Henson through her TPH Entertainment — her first feature-length solo documentary after appearing as a supporting figure in 2013's Oscar-winning "20 Feet From Stardom."
- Barry Avrich spent two years making the film, which features new performances shot at Power Station studio in New York with Love backed by a Paul Shaffer-led band, alongside talking-head sessions with family and collaborators.
- Taraji P. Henson joined as producer after seeing only a 2½-minute sizzle reel, then watched a rough cut in a private New York screening beside Love — a moment Avrich called "one of the greatest" in his roughly 70-film career.
- Steven Van Zandt persuaded Love to relocate to New York after a career stall during which she worked as a Beverly Hills house cleaner, a move that led to costarring roles in the "Lethal Weapon" films and a starring Broadway turn in "Hairspray."
- The documentary's title comes from the civil rights-themed anthem "I Know Where I'm Going," which Love performed nightly in "Hairspray" and called "the only glue that holds me together" through decades of industry headwinds.
- Darlene Love credited her unflappable demeanor — including laughing through her darkest interview moments on camera — to her father's advice to "laugh at the devil before the devil can get up in the corner and laugh at you."
Why it matters: Love has been a cultural presence for decades via Letterman's annual Christmas slot, 'Lethal Weapon,' and Broadway, but until now has only appeared as a supporting figure in someone else's narrative (2013's '20 Feet From Stardom'). The TIFF premiere of a Henson-produced, Avrich-directed feature doc gives the 80-something singer full narrative ownership of her own legacy — a meaningfully different vehicle for archival music sales, awards-season positioning, and streaming acquisition than yet another ensemble backup-singer compilation.
Ask SkimNews
