Nick Cave and Warren Ellis film debut

A new documentary/performance film captures the creative process of and relationship between two modern music giants: Nick Cave and his longtime collaborator Warren Ellis. 

Premiering May 11, This Much I Know to Be True focuses on their work leading up to the recent albums Ghosteen and Carnage. It’s directed by New Zealand filmmaker Andrew Dominik, whose credits include Chopper, Killing Me Softly, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Cave and Ellis composed music for the latter film’s soundtrack, a beautiful, moody collection that is one of several soundtracks they’ve produced in recent years. 

And this isn’t Dominik’s first film with Nick Cave. he also directed One More Time with Feeling, a 2016 documentary about the final phases of recording Cave’s album Skeleton Tree, which was completed after the tragic accidental death of Cave’s son Arthur.

This Much I Know to Be True is billed as a companion piece to Dominik and Cave’s earlier film. Filming this time took place in 2021, ahead of Cave and Ellis’s U.K. tour. Per a press statement, the film captures “the mood and spirit of the pair as they move through a new, optimistic phase.” Cave and Ellis bring the music to life along with vocalists and a string quartet. There’s also an appearance by Marianne Faithfull. 

This Much I Know to Be True screens in theaters nationwide on May 11. Check the film’s website for locations and showtimes  in your area.