Sony Music Entertainment is officially in production for a Cyndi Lauper documentary titled “Let The Canary Sing,” a feature-length film that promises to explore the singer’s 30-plus year career.
The film, which is being made in partnership with Lauper herself, will be directed by award-winning documentarian Alison Ellwood, who most recently directed the Emmy-nominated two-part documentary, “Laurel Canyon.” Ellwood has also previously collaborated with Fine Point Films on “The Go-Go’s,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Music Film at the Critics’ Choice Awards.
“Like many people, I assumed when Cyndi Lauper burst onto the music scene in the early ’80s, that she was another young star experiencing a meteoric rise to fame and success thanks to MTV,” said Ellwood. “Her music videos were wild and colorful, her songs like ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ were infectious. But as it turns out, her story is one of hard knocks, hard work and dogged determination. Cyndi wanted her voice not just to be listened to, but a voice to be heard.”
The documentary will showcase the history of the singer-songwriter who also holds titles as actress, activist, and composer. More specifically, “Let the Canary Sing” will follow Lauper’s rise to stardom from finding her voice growing up in working-class Queens, NY, to the success of her 1983 debut album “She’s So Unusual.”
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to work together with Cyndi Lauper to produce her definitive documentary, one that matches her iconic and immeasurable impact on both the music industry and society at large,” said Tom Mackay, president of premium content at Sony Music Entertainment. “Together with the incomparable Alison Ellwood and her award-winning artistic direction, the film will be a full portrait of this groundbreaking artist and share her unapologetic world with fans.”
SME is financing and distributing the film. The documentary will be produced by Fine Point Films with Trevor Birney, Eimhear O’Neill and Andrew Tully serving as producers. Tabs Breese and Lisa Barbaris will be executive producers with Tom Mackay and Richard Story as executive producers for SME.
