''Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall'' is a 2016

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

, chronicling the rise of pop star

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

through the creation of his landmark solo album, ''

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...

'' (1979). It is the second Michael Jackson-focused documentary Lee has made, after '' Bad 25'' (2012). The film premiered on January 24, 2016, at the

2016 Sundance Film Festival The 2016 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 21 to January 31, 2016. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 2, 2015. The opening night film was ''Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You'', directed by Heidi E ...

Cast

Release

''Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall'' premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

at Park City, Utah on January 24, 2016. It was shown on the American television network Showtime on February 5. The film was released along with a reissue of the original ''Off the Wall'' album on February 26.

References

{{Spike Lee 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks films American documentary films Films directed by Spike Lee Documentary films about Michael Jackson 2010s English-language films 2010s American films