SUZANNE VEGA’S LOVER, BELOVED TO
PREMIERE AT SXSW FILM FESTIVAL

MICHAEL TULLY-DIRECTED FILM BRINGS VEGA’S
ONE-WOMAN STAGE SHOW ABOUT CARSON MCCULLERS TO THE BIG SCREEN

Celebrated songwriter Suzanne Vega’s acclaimed one-woman stage show about the life of great 20th-century American writer Carson McCullers comes to the big screen in the Michael Tully-directed Lover, Beloved. The film makes its world debut at SXSW at the Rollins Theatre at the Long Center in Austin, TX on March 14 at noon CT with additional screenings at the Paramount Theatre, AFS Cinema and online; see below for a complete list of screenings. Vega will also perform a SXSW showcase at the Central Presbyterian Church on March 18 at 10:00 P.M. CT. View/share the trailer HERE, with additional information on the film and screenings available HERE.

Vega—having long championed independence, not being too restricted by traditional boundaries—has been fascinated not only by McCullers’ story, but by the intensity and aesthetic of the artist. In this experimental blend of film, theater and music, Vega fictionalizes a talk McCullers gave at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, making it two separate talks at two different points in the author’s life. During the first, in 1941, she drinks her way through the lecture, revealing messy romances and illnesses. In the second, 25 years later, she confronts her mortality, reminiscing on her novel and play The Member of The Wedding, as well as on her twice-failed marriage and romances with members of both sexes—ending on the credo she forged with her husband. The film features music by Duncan Sheik.

Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including “Luka,” “Marlene on the Wall” and “Tom’s Diner,” an a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo DNA and became a major club hit. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, follow-up Solitude Standing and 99.9F have sold millions of copies worldwide. Vega was most recently seen in the cast of the Off-Broadway production Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, where her performance earned praise from The New York Times as “brandy-voiced…a delightful, smoothly sardonic presence.”

For more information, please contact Chris Schimpf, Joe Cohen or
Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

LOVER, BELOVED SXSW SCREENINGS
March 14 /// Rollins Theatre at The Long Center /// noon CT
March 15 /// Online Screening /// 9:00 A.M. CT
March 16 /// Satellite Venue: AFS Cinema /// 9:00 P.M. CT
March 17 /// Paramount Theatre /// 12:30 P.M. CT

SUZANNE VEGA SXSW PERFORMANCE
March 18 /// Central Presbyterian Church /// 10:00 P.M. CT

LOVER, BELOVED CREDITS
Louis Black Productions and Arts + Labor present:
Lover, Beloved
Written and Performed by: Suzanne Vega
Based on the works of Carson McCullers
and with the cooperation of:
Columbus State University’s Carson McCullers Center
for Writers and Musicians
and the Literary Heirs of Carson McCullers
Director of Photography: Amy Bench
Production Design: Lisa Laratta & Bart Magrum
Editor: Michael Carter
Music/Songs: Suzanne Vega & Duncan Sheik
Arrangements: Jason Hart
Associate Producers: Carmen Bratu, Collins Swords
Executive Producers: Kristin Johansen-Berg, Dan Braun,
Lonnie Cooper, Sheila Newsom, Suzanne Vega
Produced by: Alan Berg, Louis Black, Rachael Trigg
Directed by: Michael Tully