"If we'd met when we'd both been 35, we'd have had a torrid love affair," says the late James Gandolfini in this intimate portrait of a true Broadway legend.
'Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me' follows the indomitable Broadway baby both on screen and off, as she discusses her will to perform late into her ninth decade - with only a white shirt, fishnet tights, a microphone and a pianist for support.
Good times and bad times... but... she's still here...
Her brilliant comic timing and mastery of song are well documented. Less explored, and what gives this film by director Chiemi Karasawa its special touch, is her vulnerability, revealed through touching interviews, footage both past and present, and interviews with her friends and fans, among them her '30 Rock' co-stars Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey.
'Shoot Me' is one of the films in the American Indie strand (supported by Huffington Post UK) in the 10th Birds Eye Film Festival, taking place in London all of this week and weekend, celebrating the work of women film makers across the world.
Other films in this strand include Kelly Reichardt’s thriller 'Night Moves' starring Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning, and the UK premiere of 'Lucky', Laura Checkoway’s story following a homeless mother’s survival on the streets of New York City over five years.
The Festival will also feature countless more UK premieres and special events featuring some of the world’s leading female filmmakers and rising new talents, plus Claudia Weill’s iconic film 'Girlfriends', recently ‘re-discovered’ and championed by 'Girls' creator Lena Dunham.
'Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me' will be shown on Sunday 13 April. Click here for full details of the Birds Eye Film Festival.
