HBO ACQUIRES U.S. TV RIGHTS TO JUDD APATOW AND MICHAEL BONFIGLIO’S MAY IT LAST: A PORTRAIT OF THE AVETT BROTHERS; DOCUMENTARY TO MAKE WORLD PREMIERE AT THE 2017 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST FILM FESTIVAL WarnerMedia Entertainment Follow Mar 10, 2017 · 3 min read

Photo: Scott Avett, Seth Avett (Credit: Courtesy Apatow Productions/Radical Media).

HBO has acquired U.S. TV rights to the feature documentary MAY IT LAST: A PORTRAIT OF THE AVETT BROTHERS, co-directed and produced by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, ahead of its March 15 world premiere in the 24 Beats Per Second section of the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival. MAY IT LAST is an Apatow Production (HBO’s “Crashing” and “Girls”) in association with RadicalMedia (“Hamilton’s America,” “What Happened, Miss Simone?”) and marks Apatow and Bonfiglio’s second collaboration, following last year’s acclaimed “Doc & Darryl.”

Filmed with extraordinary access over the course of more than two years, the film chronicles the band, fronted by brothers Scott and Seth Avett, on the long journey from their rural North Carolina childhoods to topping the charts and selling out arenas, experiencing heartbreak, tragedy and joy along the way. The film also provides an inside look at their collaboration with legendary producer Rick Rubin while recording the 2017 Grammy-nominated album “True Sadness,” which was released on American Recordings/Republic Records.

With the recording process as the backdrop, MAY IT LAST intimately depicts the deeply personal, lifelong bond between brothers, and shows how that dynamic helps shape their creative process as musicians and songwriters.

“This film has been a true labor of love for us for more than three years now, and we could not be happier that HBO — with their incredible lineage of documentary programming — believes in it as much as we do,” say Apatow and Bonfiglio.

“The accuracy with which Apatow and Bonfiglio present this moment in our lives and process is stunning,” says Seth Avett. “From the vantage point of my brother and I, the film is almost surreal in its level of personal truth-telling.”

Featuring a wealth of exclusive footage of the Avetts in the studio and at home, never-before-seen family photographs, concert footage and revealing interviews with band members Scott (banjo, lead vocals) and Seth (guitar, lead vocals) Avett, Bob Crawford (bass), Joe Kwon (cello), Tania Elizabeth (fiddle), Paul DeFiglia (keyboards) and Mike Marsh (drums), as well as producer Rick Rubin and intimate family and friends, the film takes an in-depth look at the personal and creative relationship between the brothers that helps define America’s biggest roots band.

Apatow and Bonfiglio previously co-directed the ESPN documentary “Doc & Darryl” as part of the network’s “30 for 30” series, which was Apatow’s first foray into the documentary world.

MAY IT LAST: A PORTRAIT OF THE AVETT BROTHERS is an Apatow Production in association with RadicalMedia; directed and produced by Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio; executive producers, Jon Kamen, Dave O’Connor, Justin Wilkes; cinematographer, Jonathan Furmanski; editor, Paul Little.

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