One of the great ensemble filmmakers of his era, director Alan Rudolph (Choose Me) provided a deft touch to this inviting, warmly funny and laid-back country-music satire, starring two of the era’s most iconoclastic musicians playing versions of themselves. Willie Nelson plays a top country singer whose former partner (a swaggering Kris Kristofferson, who did the film’s Oscar-nominated soundtrack) helps him hit back at an industry executive (played by Vanishing Point director Richard C. Sarafian) trying to steal his songs and pass them off to an up-and-coming chanteuse (Lesley Ann Warren). Featuring the indelible Rip Torn as a concert promoter and Melinda Dillon as Nelson’s old flame, Songwriter is a lightly melancholic ode to authorship and authenticity, a top-tier hangout picture, and a rollicking good time.

Preceded by

Kurt Walker’s

I THOUGHT THE WORLD OF YOU

2022, 17m, Canada, DCP

The speculative tale of Canadian outsider musician Lewis, his 1983 album L’Amour, and its belated discovery. A love story composed in myth and song.

Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival, 2022 (Wavelengths)