BORN TO BE BLUE

 In the early 50s, a young musician admired by Charlie Parker emerged as one of the most brilliant jazz trumpeters of his generation. But despite international recognition and a back-to-back touring and recording schedule, Chet Baker became severely addicted to heroine. Following numerous arrests and incarcerations, his jaw was broken in a fight and he could no longer play. Finally, after a long hiatus, he regained his footing in the 1970s jazz scene. Then in 1988, the 58-year-old Baker was found dead after falling from the second storey of an Amsterdam hotel. Born to Be Blue focuses on his second chance and the turbulent love story that set him on the road to redemption. Screened at TIFF, the film let Canadian director Robert Budreau revisit his passion for the likable but haunted musician, subject of his short film The Deaths of Chet Baker. But it also, crucially, gave Ethan Hawke the chance to create an intense and moving portrait of this unconventional artist.