Watch: the documentary that tells Allee Willis’s story
Songwriter and artist Allee Willis, best known for writing the “Friends” theme song, the Earth Wind & Fire mega-hit “September,” and “The Color Purple” musical, began filming her life as a kid in 1950s Detroit and never stopped. She pursued creative expression at all costs while struggling with not fitting established gender and sexual norms… until she found a path to love. The film features Paul Reubens, Lily Tomlin, Cyndi Lauper, Mark Cuban, the Pet Shop Boys, and more of the people who knew her.
Where to watch The World According to Allee Willis
- Hulu (streaming, United States)
- Kanopy (streaming, free with a participating library card)
- DocPlay (streaming, Australia & New Zealand)
- On-Demand
Awards:
- Tallgrass Film Festival: Best Documentary Feature and Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
- Hamptons International Film Festival : Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
- Frameline Film Festival: Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
- Sidewalk Film Festival: Best SHOUT Feature
The Hollywood Reporter called it “energetic, colorful and invigorating to witness.”
Every viewing of The World According to Allee Willis introduces a new audience to a songwriter who never stopped creating on her own terms. That same spirit drives the Allee Willis Foundation’s work today, including Musical Wonders, our flagship program that gives K-12 music educators the training, curricular resources, and instruments to help more students write, arrange, and perform their own music. If you teach music, learn how Musical Wonders can support your classroom.
