José González: In Private

A New Film Explores The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of the Introspective Musician

The dreams, existential questions and in-flight sleeping habits of reclusive Swedish-Argentine singer-songwriter José González are made public in new documentary The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José González, which NOWNESS previews today. Directors Mikel Cee Karlsson and Fredrik Egerstrand interspersed child-like animations with three years of edited footage of the indie folk musician at home, in the studio and on tour throughout the world, to unravel the creative process behind his 2007 sophomore album In Our Nature. “Being fond of someone’s music isn’t enough for me to make a film about that person,” says Karlsson, who got to know González while directing his music video "Killing for Love." "José tries to make sense of his own environment and existence; He’s always asking questions and that’s what got me interested.” To inhabit his perspective, the directors armed the musician with a recorder for documenting his thoughts as well as a camera: today’s clip features one of two scenes shot by González himself, in which he politely engages an opinionated analysis from a gig attendee who has infiltrated the backstage environs. “More often than not, the music documentary has this certain formula—unless you’re a super-fan, it’s not compelling,” says Stacy Horne, the producer of San Francisco’s Noise Pop festival, who will host the US premiere of the feature next week. “With this film, it’s a portrait of how an artist creates. And his music is an added bonus.”