Production has begun on a new documentary about Tony Award-honored entertainer Barbra Streisand. Frank Marshall will direct the film which intends to delve into every aspect of Streisand’s life and career. Alex Gibney will produce the multi-part documentary, which will be distributed by Sony Music Vision in partnership with Columbia Records.
Streisand will permit the production team unprecedented access to her personal archives, which includes videos, photographs, audio recordings and various mementos.
“For years I’ve been thinking about the best way to share the vast amount of content I’ve been safely storing in my vault,” Stresiand said in a statement. “These films, photos and music masters — many never seen or heard by the public — hold some of my most cherished memories. I’m so pleased that producer Alex Gibney and director Frank Marshall have agreed to take this journey with me.”
Streisand’s career spans six decades across theater, film and music. Following a few years performing on New York City’s cabaret and nightclub scene, Streisand made her Broadway debut in 1962’s “I Can Get it for You Wholesale,” earning her first Tony nomination. The same year, she signed with Columbia Records, which marked the beginning of a recording career that would earn Streisand 10 Grammy Awards (out of 46 nominations). She returned to Broadway in 1964, originating the role of Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” garnering an additional Tony nod. Streisand starred in the musical’s film adaptation, a performance that won her the first of two Academy Awards. Streaisand won the first of many Emmy Awards for her 1965 variety special “My Name Is Barbra.” In 1970, Streisand was deemed the “star of the decade” and subsequently honored with a Special Tony Award. Her autobiography, “My Name Is Barbra,” was released in 2023.
Marshall, the producer of films such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “The Sixth Sense” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” received an honorary Academy Award in 2019. He won a Best Musical Tony as part of the producing team of “A Strange Loop.” He was nominated again in 2024 for “Water for Elephants.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with Alex again and to have the opportunity to bring Barbra’s incredible life story to the screen,” Marshall said. “We have been given unprecedented access to archival footage from decades of her groundbreaking career and intimate visibility to the trailblazing she continues to do in life today. Uncovering these remarkable moments [illustrates] why she has become an enduring icon to a global audience of all generations.”
The documentary is a co-production of Jigsaw Productions and the Kennedy/Marshall Company. In addition to Gibney, producers include Frank Marshall, Aly Parker, Michele Farinola, Tom Mackay and Jay Landers. The film’s title and production timeline will be announced.
