Folk music legend, peace activist, Bob Dylan’s girlfriend: Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky, and Maeve O’Boyle prove that Joan Baez is so much more in their multi-layered documentary JOAN BAEZ I AM A NOISE. The directors follow Baez on her last tour and, in parallel, they comb through the private archive of the folk singer and political activist.

Born in 1941 to a physicist with Mexican roots in Staten Island, New York, the middle child of was creative from the start - singing, playing guitar, and painting. As a teenager, she dreamt of changing the world for the better. But mental problems like anxiety and panic attack have been part of Baez’s life since her youth, which she often talks about in the film, as well as the familial hardships and trauma and her healing process. For a long time during a 60+ musical career, the pacifist and civil rights activist with the characteristic soprano had a hard time with fame and privilege.

O’Connor, Navasky, and O’Boyle decided not to do a classic biopic or a concert film. Their approach is immersive: except for Joan Baez herself, who unabashedly reflects on her life and work, there are only interviews from people in her closest circle, like her older sister Pauline and her son Gabriel. Interviews take place with natural light in an tranquil setting. Along with the backstage material on tour, there are snippets from diaries, letters, and videos as well as photos and paintings from Baez’ youth and recordings from therapy conversations. Thus, a unvarnished, intimate portrait of the “Queen of Folk“ forms, an impressive, still engaging person who always believed that the personal was political.

Stefanie Borowsky

Translation: Elinor Lewy