Dream of Life (2008)

I saw this documentary last year, an indepth look at the artist, Patti Smith, through the eyes of photographer/filmmaker, Steven Sebring. The filming took place over twelve years after her husband, Fred Sonic Smith, passed away in 1994 and Patti began to re-start her career after living quietly in Detroit raising her children, Jackson and Jesse. The film tells the story of her life as a developing poet/singer/songwriter/painter growing up in the midwest and moving to New York in the early 1970s. A truly artful film, it shows a lot of daily life, as well as important interviews with family and friends.

This wonderful PBS interview with Patti and Steven that explores the making of the film...http://video.pbs.org/video/1372960914/

Patti Smith's memoir, Just Kids, also just came out...recollections of the early years in New York when she and best friend, Robert Maplethorpe, were beginning their artistic lives.