Hot Docs 2008

Documentary filmmaker David Maysles, renowned for such films as Salesman, Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter, was simply Dad to daughter Celia, who had no idea growing up that her father was a film pioneer. By picking up a camera, Celia takes after her father and journeys into the past via interviews with family, friends, former film subjects and colleagues. But what she truly longs for is to feel her father's presence, to see and hear him again, even if it's only on screen. Her quest to remember her father by way of his films is challenged, however, by Uncle Albert, who has long protected David's film catalogue and is less than eager to collaborate with his niece. Wild Blue Yonder is a first-person search for answers in images, in the hope they might bring back the dead. A thoughtful family drama that examines a legacy of filmmaking and loss, passed down generation to generation.
-Angie Driscoll