The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of the critically-acclaimed new documentary “Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love,” showing Friday through Thursday, Aug. 23 through 29, at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
“Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love” is renowned filmmaker Nick Broomfield’s most personal and romantic film of his storied career. The documentary starts on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960, where Leonard Cohen, then a struggling and unknown fiction writer, and Marianne Ihlen, a single mother with a young son, became part of a community of expat artists, writers and musicians.
The film follows their relationship from the early days on Hydra, a humble time of “free love” and open marriage, to how their love evolved when Leonard became a successful musician.
It was on Hydra in 1968 that director Nick Broomfield, then age 20, first met Marianne Ihlen. Marianne introduced him to Leonard Cohen’s music and also encouraged Broomfield to make his first film. She was an enormous influence on him. Marianne and Leonard’s was a love story that would continue for the rest of their lives. Along the way we learn of the tragedy that befell those that could not survive the beauty of Hydra, the highs and lows of Leonard’s career, and the inspirational power that Marianne possessed.
Never-before-seen footage shot by Broomfield and legendary documentarian D.A. Pennebaker make for a unique portrait of an idyllic 1960s bohemia. It was a time that left a lasting imprint on both Marianne and Leonard, whose friendship would last another 50 years before their deaths in 2016.
“Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre Aug. 23 through 29. Showtimes will be 4 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Thursday, Aug. 23, 24 and 29; and 7 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday, Aug. 26 and 28.
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. Call 282-1177 for tickets and more information. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. SR 89A in West Sedona. Visit SedonaFilmFestival.org for more information.
