SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – The Castro Theater in San Francisco was the location of the premiere screening of Robert Downey Jr.’s latest project; a documentary about his late father, filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.
The documentary is a deep look at the father-son relationship between Robert Downey’s Jr. and Sr. A love letter from a son to his father exploring generational trauma and words left unsaid.
Sr. himself edited his own cut of the documentary, parts of which are featured in the film. The film follows an intimate three years with three generations of Downeys, up until Sr. ‘s passing in mid 2021.
The film, directed by Chris Smith, began as a collaborative project with RDJ. RDJ decided he would want the project to become a documentary on his father instead of himself, taking a deep dive into his inspirations and connection with his family.
KRON On is streaming news live now
The documentary touches on generational trauma while facing the concept of death. Death is faced head-on by the Downey’s. RDJ said in a panel after the screening, “death is seen as something that is accepted and we must face.”
The SF premiere of the documentary served as one of the select appearances RDJ was making. “Sr. “ was one of two documentaries selected to close the SFFILM’s Doc Stories series, along with Marina Zenovich’s “Jerry Brown: The Disrupter.”
