Directed by Mary Wharton and now available in 4K resolution as part of the YouTube Originals series, “Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers” offers an intimate look into the making of the rocker’s second solo effort through the period of 1993-1995 as he worked with producer Rick Rubin for the first time.
The film presents archival footage of Petty and his band in the recording studio, behind-the-scenes on tour, and at home with his family, and includes never-before-seen video from a newly discovered archive of 16mm film, as well as new interviews with "Wildflowers" co-producer and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell along with Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, and many more.
The project – which won the 2021 SXSW Audience Award, and Best Documentary Film at the Boulder Film Festival, ahead of its debut in cinemas last month in sync with Petty’s birthday – comes on the heels of the release of a 2020 series of expanded editions of the 1994 record, which Petty wrote and recorded as a double album before his record label convinced him to trim it back to a single record; almost two decades later, “Wildflowers & All The Rest” delivered the second half of the album as originally intended.
Petty passed away in October of 2017 at the age of 66 in a Santa Monica, CA hospital after being found unconscious and in cardiac arrest at his Malibu home.
See also:
Tom Petty Wildflowers documentary coming to YouTube
Tom Petty Wildflowers documentary to screen in cinemas worldwide
Tom Petty premieres Angel Dream No. 2 video
Tom Petty streams previously unreleased She’s The One track 105 Degrees
Search Tom Petty at hennemusic
