What you need to know
Courtney Love was absent from the Sundance Film Festival debut of her new documentary, Anti-Heroine.
The musician and actress, 61, was scheduled to attend the world premiere on January 27 of her new film, Anti-Heroine, which follows her fascinating life and career.
“Unfortunately, she will not be able to attend tonight’s screening,” festival director Eugene Hernandez said while introducing the film at the festival.
“I’m so disappointed that Courtney couldn’t celebrate this moment with all of us tonight,” co-director Edward Lovelace said in his introduction to the Anti-Heroine screening, calling her “so unfiltered and so true.”
Lovelace added, “But I just wanted to say that it was the greatest privilege to be invited into Courtney’s personal space and to make such an intimate and honest film with someone we love so much.” He thanked Love for “trusting us and letting us tell her story and experience these last three years with her.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Love’s rep for comment.
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The film depicts Love’s quiet life in London, where she moved over five years ago, as she begins to work on composing new music. (In March 2025, she revealed that she would be taking British citizenship in the coming months.) Also included is old footage of Love’s rise through the music industry, Hollywood and the tabloids, as well as her current candid thoughts on it.
The logline for the film, directed by Loveless and James Hall, reads: “Now sober and set to release her first new music in over a decade, Courtney is ready to reveal her story unfiltered and unapologetically.”
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During the post-screening Q&A, Hernandez asked the audience to share how they felt about the film and said he would capture the resulting applause on video and share it with Love. “We love you Courtney!” several audience members shouted.
Musicians Michael Stipe, Melissa Auf der Mohr, Erik Erlandson, Billie Joe Armstrong, Patti Schemel, and Butch Walker also appear in the film.
“As a child of the ’90s, I was always interested in the way a woman named Courtney was often defined by her husband, Kurt Cobain,” producer Julia Nottingham told Variety. “We made this film because Courtney’s story is bigger than the headlines. It’s raw, complex and very human.”
Nottingham has previously worked on projects including “Pamela: A Love Story”, “The Greatest Night in Pop” and “Victoria Beckham”.
Vinny Zufante/Getty
Love was married to the late Nirvana rock star from February 1992 until his death in 1994. They have one daughter, Frances Bean, born in 1992.
In addition to his high-profile private life, Love was the singer and guitarist for the alternative rock band Hole from 1989 to 2002 and 2010 to 2012. In June 2024, Love appeared in a photo of a recording session with Auf der Mohr, with whom he worked as Hole’s bassist from 1994 to 1999.
“This is our first time in the studio together in 24 years,” reads a post on Love’s From Her to Eternity Instagram account.
Later that year, Love was featured on 070 Shake’s song “Song to the Siren”, which included vocals from Auf der Mohr, The Standard explained.
edward loveless
In an interview with the outlet, Love seemed to give a few hints about what fans can expect from her new music, including a collaboration with her longtime friend Stipe, who is also her daughter’s godfather.
“[Michael]Stipe mentioned our collaboration in the New York Times, so it’s great,” she said, before adding, “I don’t do ‘collaborations.’ I hate that word.”
“I cried when I heard his voice. It was better than ever! I thought I knew the outcome, but still, I’m a grasshopper and Michael is a teacher. There are others I can’t mention. We had no intention of collaborating.”
