BECOMING CARY GRANT

For most of his life, Cary Grant, one of Hollywood’s greatest stars, was troubled with self–doubt and insecurity – the result of childhood trauma. In his fifties, reaching mid-life, he took a long course of LSD therapy, hoping to exorcise his demons. Using words from his unpublished autobiography and newly-discovered and evocative footage shot by Grant, we explore the star’s journey from childhood poverty to global fame, and from darkness to light. We discover, for the first time, a different Cary Grant, the man behind the mask of subtle charm and suave sophistication that he wore to hide his insecurities. This is the moving story of a man in search of himself, on a quest to find the love that eluded him for most of his life.

Mark Kidel born in 1947 is a documentary filmmaker and writer who lives in Bristol, England.

His award-winning films include portraits of John Adams (composer), Elvis Costello, Boy George, Ravi Shankar, Rod Stewart, Bill Viola, Iannis Xenakis, pianists Alfred Brendel and Leon Fleisher, Derek Jarman, Balthus, Tricky, Robert Wyatt and American theatre and opera director Peter Sellars.

A pioneer of the "rockumentary", Kidel was also the first rock critic of the New Statesman and contributed pieces on rock, soul, and world music, to The Observer, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian.