Film Forum Friday

On August 31, 1970, 35-year-old Leonard Cohen was awakened at 2am and brought onstage to perform at the third annual Isle of Wight Music Festival. An estimated 600,000 people were waiting, energized by a legendary set by Jimi Hendrix. As fellow festival headliners Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Judy Collins and others looked on, the Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet-novelist quietly tamed the crowd with an equally spellbinding mix of songs and stories. Interwoven with Murray Lerner’s (Festival!From Mao To Mozart, Message To Love) live footage, never before shown, are brand-new interviews with Baez, Collins, Kristofferson and others, fashioning a fascinating and timely portrait of the artist as a young man.

Watch the trailer: