The Iconic and Underappreciated Grace Jones Finally Gets Her Movie Due

The word “iconic” gets thrown around a lot these days, but for some truly legendary characters, there’s no other title as fitting. As if Grace Jones hadn’t already proved her status as a mega icon, a new documentary on the artist (model, actress, musician and much more) provides hard proof that she is one-of-a-kind.

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami opens in Dallas and Houston this weekend, giving fans an intimate look at the life and career of the glam-pop diva. Directed by Sophie Fiennes, the film weaves footage of Jones’ electrifying performances with private moments in her everyday life. Jones herself commented that the film is so personal that it “will be like seeing me almost naked.”

Going beyond the conventional music biography, the documentary spins a portrait as extraordinary and compelling as its subject. It takes the viewers to Jones’ roots in Jamaica, where she works in the studio with longtime collaborators Sly & Robbie. It follows the artist as she tours the globe, delivering powerful performances of hit songs like “Slave to the Rhythm,” “Pull Up to the Bumper,” “Love is the Drug,” and more.

The film also gives a rare glimpse into Grace Jones as a mother, daughter, lover and businesswoman.

Fiennes approaches the subject with a unique perspective; Her first feature documentary, Hoover Street Revival (2001), centers around a Pentecostal church community in Los Angeles and its preacher, Bishop Noel Jones – brother of the boundary-pushing pop-star.

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami opens in Dallas this Friday, May 11 at The Texas Theatre and Angelika Film Center at Mockingbird Station, and in Houston at AMC Studio 30.

To make the film even more enticing, The Texas Theatre is throwing a dance party following the screening on Friday from 9 pm to 2 am. Mark “Mr. Rid” Ridlen, former DJ at Dallas’ famous Starck Club (which Jones frequented in the ’80s), will provide the tunes.