The Vigil (for Kurt Cobain)

Set in 1994, a group of young people drive from Lethbridge in Canada to Seattle for Kurt Cobain’s vigil at Seattle Center. As they drive, they learn and love, life and the community that has welcomed them unconditionally.

“The indie, low-budget film, while clearly not having the cash to afford any Cobain or Nirvana-related material, still manages to capture and celebrate what the other films about Cobain try but fail to present: the power of music to build and sustain community in a truly authentic way. While not a song or picture of Cobain is revealed throughout, the band and the man are present front and centre via the transcendent quality that the two play in every aspect of the characters’ lives. While you could arguably replace Nirvana and Cobain with any other moment in musical history, The Vigil succeeds in illustrating the inherent solace art can provide when other means of redemption have failed…The Vigil is an important cultural snapshot, providing a view of a grieving generation.”

Fandom, Image and Authenticity: Joy Devotion and the Second Lives of Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis by Dr Jennifer Otter Bickerdike