Stuart Macbeth talks to Nickolas Rossi about his directorial debut Heaven Adores You

Filmmaker Nickolas Rossi was a student in Portland, Oregon, in the 1990s when he first heard the music of the late Elliott Smith.

Rossi frequently saw the singer-songwriter perform around the city where both lived. And he reflects that, although the two never met, “I’m sure we must have crossed paths and shared mutual acquaintances”.

Two decades later Rossi pays tribute to Smith with his directorial debut Heaven Adores You. The feature-length documentary promises to “get to the heart of Elliott’s life and music”.

It is the first comprehensive film to be made about Elliott Smith.

The film opens with footage from Smith’s breakthrough performance at the 1998 Academy Awards Ceremony.

The singer had a lucky break when his song Miss Misery was included in the opening credits of the Robin Williams film Good Will Hunting, and won an Oscar nomination for Best Song.

Smith cut an unlikely figure on the night, performing on the same bill as fellow nominees Michael Bolton and Celine Dion.

“For most people the Oscar performance was the first time they would have heard him,” Rossi says of the televised event that attracted over 87 million viewers.

“It felt like the right place for me to open the film. It was a milestone in Elliott’s career. I thought it was important to start with the iconic white suit he wore on the night“.

“By beginning there,” Rossi explains, “I was also able to go back in time, to reveal how Elliott had got that far.”

Smith released his debut solo album Roman Candle in 1994 and won widespread acclaim for his songs of small town love and loss, often accompanied only by his guitar.

Although he has spent the past 15 years working as a cameraman and cinematographer, Rossi at 40 retains the fascination with Elliott Smith that he developed in his late teens.

In the documentary he splices the pieces of Elliott’s background together. The film includes footage shot by Rossi in the three cities where Smith lived, Portland, New York City and Los Angeles.

“The cities where Elliott lived serve in the film as visual threads to the conversations I was able to have,” he explains. “They’re very different places. But they help us try to place Elliott, to find ways to connect with him”. He also includes photographs, many previously unseen. “A lot of the photos in the film were from Elliott’s friends. Ashley, his sister, was incredibly helpful in generously providing us with some childhood photos.”

And Rossi personally conducted more than 30 interviews, each providing insightful and revealing dialogue.

They include contributions from Elliott’s sister and many of his high school friends and band mates.

But the director admits that persuading people to collaborate in the making of the film was not always an easy task.

He elaborates: “I’m not going to say it was simple to get people talking. It required a tremendous amount of faith and trust on their part that we would make the film we said we would – a film that would honour Elliott and focus on the music that he made.”

Smith died in 2003 from two stab wounds to the chest, following a battle with drugs and depression. He was only 34, and the cause of death was never determined.

“At the time of Smith’s death many of his friends had refused to speak about him in public because the media really wanted to focus on the last couple years of his struggles instead of the bigger picture. They were very protective of their friend.”

“It was important to us to reassure them that we’d keep the focus on Elliot’s music and not on the more sensational, tabloid aspects of his life.”

“So we’ve made a film about why he continues to influence fans and others musicians today.

“We all wanted that the next generation of fans of Elliott’s music have something to reference about his life and career.” The film does briefly address Smith’s drug taking however.

Oxford Mail:

And there are sad moments, such as the observation from a fellow film director that seeing Smith towards the end of his life was like “seeing a friend, and it’s almost as though they’ve become a senior citizen overnight.”

But in the end it is Smith the man who prevails, coming across as humble and talented.

“I think what’s really great about Elliott’s story is that it really speaks for the everyman,” Rossi enthuses.

“You don’t need to be a fan of Elliott’s music to enjoy watching his journey.

“Although his music really spoke of universal themes which are very accessible to people, and very easy to relate to – so there’s a good chance you’ll appreciate his songs by the end of the film!”

Heaven Adores You will screen at more than 35 film festivals, across four continents this year.

The film, which was crowdfunded through the Kickstarter website, will also screen at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford tomorrow.

The screening has been arranged in collaboration with local record shop Truck Store. The documentary will be preceded by live music from local musicians Reichenbach Falls and Ian De Quadros of Tiger Mendoza. So how does Rossi think the singer would feel about having this film out there?

“Oh, Elliott would probably be very shy about it” he chuckles. “And perhaps a bit embarrassed. But I hope he’d at least enjoy watching it – even it was just the once.”

And Rossi is convinced that Smith’s music will live on.

“I hope Elliott’s music will continue to be embraced, and that he’ll be firmly placed in the canon of great singer songwriters, like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake.”

Truck Presents: Heaven Adores You tomorrow at 9pm at the Ultimate Picture Palace, Cowley Road, Oxford
Book at uppcinema.com/