A new documentary about the musician Courtney Love, titled 'Antiheroine', premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday evening, but the 61-year-old star was not in attendance. Directors Edward Lovelace and James Hall expressed their disappointment, with Lovelace telling the audience in Park City, Utah, that they were 'really gutted' Love could not join them to celebrate the moment. He praised Love as 'so unfiltered, so truthful' and thanked her for allowing them to tell her story over the past three years.
The 98-minute film was shot in London, where Love has lived for more than five years. In the documentary, she describes being 'two and a half years sober' when she moved, with 'a winter wardrobe and a dog', and says she removed herself from everyone. 'Antiheroine' follows Love as she writes music again after two unsuccessful albums and over a decade away from the spotlight, and grapples with her volatile past and abrasive reputation. 'I didn't think about likability ever,' she says in voiceover. 'Likability was not a factor.'
The film includes interviews with musicians such as REM frontman Michael Stipe, who describes Love as having 'an unfiltered, insanely honest aspect'. Love reflects on her reputation, noting that 'everyone has a Courtney Love story'. At one point, she states that the new album – her first in 15 years – represents 'a way to take back my story'. As of March 2025, she was in the process of obtaining UK citizenship, citing things being 'scary' in the United States.
'Antiheroine' retraces Love's pioneering career as a rock frontwoman, from her childhood in a 'countercultural family' in San Francisco to her rise with Hole. She recounts being given LSD at age four by her father, having her first drink at ten, and being scapegoated by her mother. After a period in foster care and juvenile hall, she credits Patti Smith with saving her life by showing her what a woman in rock could be. Love says she moved to Liverpool to infiltrate the punk scene and later to Los Angeles, where she worked as a stripper and formed Hole.
Despite the challenges, Love never doubted her future fame. 'I never doubted that I would be famous,' she says in the documentary, which serves as both a retrospective and a declaration of her continued creative drive.
