Courtney Love Documentary ‘Antiheroine’ Premieres at Sundance, Chronicles Return to Music While Sober

A fresh documentary about Courtney Love premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 27. It shows the musician sober and working on her first album in over a decade.

The film, Antiheroine, follows the 61-year-old as she writes new music in London. She reflects on her life and thinks about her career.

Love missed the world premiere screening at the festival. "We're really gutted that Courtney couldn't make it tonight to celebrate this moment with us all," co-director Edward Lovelace said before the premiere, according to People.

The documentary covers Courtney's childhood through her rise with the band Hole and her marriage to Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who died in 1994. Filmmakers Edward Lovelace and James Hall spent three years with her, capturing her return to the studio with producer Butch Walker. "The most transgressive thing you can do in the world is be a female aging in public," Love said in the film, according to The Washington Post.

The film shows her working on new material with collaborators, including Michael Stipe and Melissa Auf der Maur. Love hasn't released a studio album since 2010. The singer discussed her struggles with addiction. Her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, filed for emancipation at one point during Love's lowest period. The film tracks her path to sobriety and stability in recent years.

The crowd applauded after the screening, and Hernandez filmed the response to share with the musician. According to Variety, producer Julia Nottingham said, "As a child of the 90's, I was always curious about Courtney, a woman who often appeared to be defined by her husband Kurt Cobain. We made this film because Courtney's story is bigger than the headlines. It's raw, complicated, and deeply human.” 

Musicians Billie Joe Armstrong, Patty Schemel, and Eric Erlandson also appear in the film. Love hasn't announced a release date for the documentary yet.