The feature documentary film about the goddess of the slide guitar, Ellen McIlwaine, by Montreal-based award-winning director Alfonso Maiorana at Soul Flicker Films, premieres across Canada on Wednesday, March 12 on CBC Gem.
Goddess of Slide: The Forgotten Story of Ellen McIlwaine is a personal and heartfelt story that follows Ellen McIlwaine’s relentless pursuit to claim her rightful place in music history. She was one of the first women to choose the slide guitar as her instrument of choice, even when everyone around her suggested otherwise. She would lose out on lucrative record contracts and management, all because she refused to conform to what managers and music producers believed an up-and-coming artist should look and sound like.
Everyone – from fans to fellow musicians to music journalists – were all in agreement: Ellen McIlwaine should have been a household name!
Eight months after arriving in Greenwich Village with no prospects, Ellen found herself opening for the biggest blues legends in the world, like Odetta, Richie Havens, and Mississippi John Hurt. But it’s the six magical nights a young fearless redheaded Ellen ignited the stage with Jimi Hendrix that changed the course of her life. Goddess of Slide is an intimate look at a pioneer performer whose road trip to stardom and long career deserves a rightful place in music history.
Goddess of Slide began its film festival run at the Calgary International Film Festival in September of 2024 and came home with its first of many awards: the Audience Choice Award for Music on Screen Feature. The documentary continues its film festival run in the U.S. and Europe.
A special in-person screening of Goddess of Slide will be held at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto (506 Bloor St West) on Sunday, March 9 at 12:30PM. Director Alfonso Maiorana will be present for a Q&A immediately following the screening.
Goddess of Slide is produced by Alfonso Maiorana and Agata De Santis, with support from the Canada Media Fund, the Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit, The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, documentary Channel, the Rogers Documentary Fund and the Hot Docs-Slaight Family Fund.
