She was a highly influential singer, songwriter, and pianist. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, she was an outspoken Civil Rights activist. But deep down, Nina Simone was also an angry, volatile, complex woman who constantly batted inner demons. “What Happened, Miss Simone,” from Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus, attempts to understand who Nina Simone really was through rare concert footage, diaries, letters, and interviews with her daughter, friends, and collaborators. The film was picked up by Netflix after its premiere at Sundance earlier this year, and now the streaming service has released an official trailer, which you can watch below.
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Even if you are not familiar with Nina Simone’s music, the trailer should leave most people feeling intrigued, as it does a great job of providing a peek of what this tremendously talented woman was all about. This film does not appear to be your average puff piece. “As fragile as she was strong,” says an unseen voice in the trailer, “as vulnerable as she was dynamic, most people are afraid to be as honest as she lived.” Well, we’re sold. Unfortunately, we’ll all have to wait a few more months before we can see the film, which premieres on Netflix on June 26th.