by Pietro Baragiola
The production house Sony Music Video officially began filming the documentary about the life of legendary Jewish singer, actress and director Barbra Streisand on Thursday, September 26.
The announcement was made directly on Streisand’s Instagram, who said she was “excited to bring this very personal project to screens around the world.”
According to statements released by Sony Music Video in a press release, the documentary will be divided into several parts, will be produced by Oscar winner Alex Gibney and directed by Frank Marshall, well-known collaborator of Steven Spielberg.
“For years we have been talking about the need for a definitive documentary on life of Barbra Streisand and I am proud to see that, after a series of wonderful conversations and rigorous research, this project will finally come to fruition,” Gibney said in the press release. “Barbra is a legendary singer, an extraordinary actress, and an inspirational filmmaker and political activist to us all. Plus, it’s funny as hell.”
The project, still untitled and without a release date, will be a joint venture between Sony Music Vision, Jigsaw Productions and The Kennedy/Marshall Company and will be presented and distributed by Columbia Records, the label that has represented Streisand since 1962 .
The life of Barbra Streisand
“Our project will offer an intimate and comprehensive exploration of every aspect of this iconic woman who, in a career spanning six decades, has excelled in every area of entertainment,” Sony Music Vision said in its statement.
According to the production company, the documentary will follow Streisand’s life from her childhood in Brooklyn, through her early career in New York nightclubs, her Broadway debut and her acclaimed performance as comedian Fanny Brice in the original production of Funny Girl of 1964, which will be adapted to the cinema 4 years later, bringing the young Barbra winning her first Oscar at just 27 years old.
Acting in the film versions of Hello, Dolly! e On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Streisand quickly achieved international fame, establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
In 1983 he made his directorial debut with Yentlbecoming the first woman to write, direct, produce and star in a successful motion picture.
On her singing career, Billboard stated in 2021 that Streisand is officially the only recording artist whose albums have charted in the Top 20 of every decade since the 1960s.
Streisand is also among the EGOT winners, the elite category of the entertainment world reserved for those who have managed to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Over the course of her career, in fact, she has won a Tony Award, two Oscars, five Emmys and 10 Grammys.
• Read also: Emmys 2024: Singer-songwriter Benj Pasek reaches EGOT status. He is the eighth Jewish artist to win the title
In 2023 the magazine TIME honored Streisand with her annual Genesis Award, “The Jewish Nobel” awarded to those who demonstrate commitment and respect for Jewish values.
Recently the career of this legendary artist took a further turn, publishing the single “Love Will Survive” together with composer Hans Zimmer for the soundtrack of the TV series The Auschwitz tattoo artist. This song is the first that Streisand has ever written for a television drama.
Unpublished content
To create this documentary, Marshall and Gibney had access to hundreds of hours of footage, recordings and previously unreleased materials.
“These contents, which I have kept safely in my vault for years, hold some of my fondest memories and I am very happy that Alex Gibney and Frank Marshall have agreed to take this journey with me,” Streisand said on her social media accounts.
“Using this treasure trove of archival materialscombined with contemporary interviews, the documentary will offer an in-depth look at Streisand’s star past and her current artistic pursuits,” Marshall said in the release. – The discovery of these extraordinary moments illustrates how Barbra has become an enduring legend for a global audience of all generations.”
Just last year Streisand opened up about her life in a 970-page memoir titled My Name Is Barbra, achieving extraordinary success, and Sony Music Video is certain that the documentary will surprise fans around the world even more.
• Read also: Barbra Streisand participates in the virtual meeting of the “Jewish Women for Kamala” to raise funds for Kamala Harris
