The first-ever Joan Didion documentary is officially happening

Sacramento native Joan Didion is finally getting her own documentary, We Tell Ourselves Stories In Order to Live.

Her nephew and filmmaker Griffin Dunne says it’s stunning that no one has tried to put the story of America’s arguably most influential, still-living writer on the big screen. So he teamed up with documentarian Susanne Rostock a couple years ago to change that, and they’ve already shot more than 60 hours of film.

Now, Dunne is crowdfunding on Kickstarter. From the page:

We want to honor Joan’s language, to visualize the stories she tells, to put her words to picture. Joan’s obsessive memory, and her sharp and unsettling observations, will be brought to life, using music and images–rare and atmospheric film and stills that encapsulate her words. We will also be using rare archival from Joan’s personal life and family history.

Dunne hopes to raise at least $80,000 by Nov. 21. The campaign has been active for less than one day, but it’s already got more than $30,000. Incentives for donations include signed copies of Didion’s books, a handwritten list of Didion’s all-time favorite books, tickets to the film premiere and more. The Kickstarter page doesn’t mention any estimated completion or release date for the film.

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