This was originally posted to Liz's regular home REEL NEWS DAILY
Ani DiFranco was a force of nature in my high school and college years. Her songs informed my passion, my power, and my voice. 32 Flavors remains my theme song as a woman. Dana Flor‘s 1-800-ON-HER-OWN gives Tribeca 2024 audiences a sneak peek behind the righteous audacity of Ani DiFranco.
An editing wonder, the doc opens with performances of her song Shameless throughout the years and mashes them into one great montage. As a fan, it is electric. Ani talks about the extreme highs and lows of fame. She has always been entirely honest about the traps of the industry, but her fans clammer for her fearless writing.
1-800-ON-HER-OWN-Clean-16x9The revelations in the film are astounding. In a collab session, Ani confides in Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) that she’s never written a song with anyone else. Her warmth and honesty are not simply for show. Witnessing this creative potion-making is chill-inducing. At 18, Ani and Scot Fisher created Righteous Babe Records. Their partnership proved to be an emotional rollercoaster, for better or worse. The remnants of that time echo in her present-day reclamation of her power.
The doc chronicles Ani during lockdown, leading her to discuss her childhood in Buffalo, NY. Her mother’s feminist anger and the household’s minimal parenting drove her into survival and creativity mode from early on. 1-800-ON-HER-OWN boasts a brilliant amount of archival footage with voiceover stories from all the artists in her life. Lockdown also brings uncertainty and the relatable chaos of forced homeschooling our kids, Zoom glitches and attempting to maintain an identity and sanity under the circumstances. Her vulnerability spills off the screen beyond the songs. Ani’s unfiltered confessions hit you square in the chest.
1-800-ON-HER-OWN-21-800-ON-HER-OWN is a celebration of an artist in a league of her own. Ani DiFranco‘s relentless magic hangs in the air in my house. This film reintroduces her to the world.
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