“I wanted to make a movie about creativity,” Hawke said. “The life of most artists is one of being met with absolute indifference. I wanted to write about how creativity alone can have value.”

Blaze is played by Ben Dickey, a singer-songwriter friend of Hawke’s who also struggled as a musician.

“The music world is a tough business. I watched his band almost break apart. His dream took a real beating,” Hawke said. “I sort of wrote the movie for him.”

Hawke co-wrote the movie with Sybil Rosen, who fell in love with Blaze when she was young and carefree and they were living in a treehouse. She wrote a memoir about their experience, which provided a basis for the movie.

But their idyllic life didn’t last. Although a gifted songwriter, Foley was also a drunk and a drug addict. He was shot and killed when he was 39.

Hawke describes the movie as a sort of “country-western opera,” set to the score of Foley’s songs.

“I can’t wait to see Blaze’s songs against the backdrop of the Byrd Theatre,” Hawke said. “I’m hoping it will cast its spell.”