Musicians have an incredible power. Through time and space, they stretch out and reach us – making us feel seen in the slowness of our emotions or pushing us out of chairs into the ecstasy of the dance floor. In the big screen, music documentaries have allowed us to feel closer to these musical heroes. In the last few years, the Dukes has brought me closer to some of my favourite bands with, Summer of Soul (2021), Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii MCMLXXII (1972 with a 2025 4K restoration), Dreaming of You: The Making of the Coral (2025) – to name a few. It’s Never Over Jeff Buckley is a truly fantastic documentary that celebrates the artist behind one of the most singular voices in music history.

With access to the musician’s friends, peers and family, director Amy Berg gives us access to a range of never-before seen material allowing us to see a new side of Buckley, and perhaps more interestingly, make sense of the side we already know and are so fond of. An example of this, is the portrayal of Buckley as a gentle soul and a feminist in the age of rampant misogyny. In one of the film’s recurrent animations (made by Kevin Eskew) we see a line of Buckley’s diary, where he wrote “Will women ever outgrow the scars inflicted on them by men?”. Just like the ocean, always in love with the moon, Jeff Buckley had great love and admiration for the women around him and Berg frames the film around interviews with his mother (Mary Guibert) and his girlfriends. 

Sometimes the use of “never before seen” archival footage, can feel like an empty vessel to sell tickets or to exclusively portray a better side of the artists we admire. I can assure you this is not the case with It’s Never Over Jeff Buckley. A series of never before released voicemails help rescue Buckley from the legends (and speculation) and return him to the human plane. Although seemingly happy at the time of his death, we get to see that Buckley never recovered from the emotional hole left by his absent father (Tim Buckley), and, after the success of his debut album Grace, Buckley engaged in a series of spontaneous experiences to deal with a myriad of internal and external pressures – amongst them I was particularly fascinated by his application to become a butterfly keeper at a local zoo.  

Watching It’s Never Over Jeff Buckley, I was hypnotised by a strange delight. Like Jimi Hendrix, Jannis Jopplin and Amy Winehouse, Buckley was an intense flame who burnt out far too quickly. What’s so graceful about Berg’s documentary is how it focuses on a life well lived, rather than an unexpected death. It is a true celebration of the artist who left an indelible mark on soul, stadium-rock, folk, shoegaze… - well, music as a whole independently of any genres and categorisation. All I can say is Hallelujah for this film, Hallelujah for the music, Hallelujah for Jeff Buckley. 

Written by João Eduardo Lima Belchior

Coming to the Dukes from 27, 28 February & 3, 4 & March. 

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