Strange Parallel

Strange Parallel is a documentary short film revolving around the American singersongwriter Elliott Smith. The film was directed by Steve Hanft and released on October 15, 1998, and features interviews with Elliott himself as well as fans, friends and other acquaintances of his.

The film takes place mostly in New York City and Portland, Oregon. The title is a direct quote from an interview of one of Elliotts acquaintances a bartender who said he felt a strange parallel between himself and Elliott when he met him.In 1998, I was hired to make a film for the reclusive rocker Elliott Smith. Very excited, I flew to Portland, Oregon, where he was staying and met with him to figure it out before we filmed. At the meeting he explained, in a very quiet voice, with a slight smile, that he didnt want it to be a straightup documentary. So I suggested he write down some of his dreams. The next day, we met again, and he began talking a lot, and louder, telling me all about how he had a fucked up dream last night. It was very funny when he explained it, everyone in and around the music business he was in was telling him to get a mechanical hand to replace the hand that hed trained for so long to play guitar. There was also a military recruiter who came into the bar where he was writing a song that would yell at him for no reason, and Satan was there that kills me. A lot of people who know him from his music dont understand that he was really funny. So we wrote the dream into the shot list and intercut it into the more traditional music footage. It was hard to get the documentary footage out of him he hated being interviewed. He was much more into the dream sequence and we had a lot fun shooting it. It was an amazing experience and just knowing a guy like that, so talented and brutally honest, has changed my life. Bless him. ........

Source: Wikipedia