I am trying to break your heart: a film about Wilco

In 2000 New York based rock band Wilco embarked upon the recording of their fifth studio album. With money from their record label, the band decided to self-produce “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” - their most collaborative effort to date. Filmmaker Sam Jones recorded the process in what would prove an eventful year for the band, marked by frustration with the recording, personality clashes and issues with label executives. The film focuses chiefly on lead singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy, a man driven by the urge to create, write and produce music who is at times perplexed by the vagaries of the music industry and the demands placed upon him as the face of Wilco. Shooting on 16mm, in black and white, with a hand-held camera, Jones creates a document that apes the successful look and feel of “Don’t look back” (1967) D. A. Pennebaker’s legendary examination of Bob Dylan on tour and in the spotlight at a crucial time of his career. Whilst Jones’ work cannot claim the same iconic status, his documentary is also an intimate, personal view of an artist at odds with the current traits of the American music business, with his fellow musicians and at times, with himself. Features footage of live performances, studio work and interviews with Wilco and various colleagues.