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Sara Bareilles Discusses Grief and Art in New Documentary

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles and director Josh Alexander explore themes of loss and healing in their new documentary, "Good Grief," premiering at Tribeca. The film delves into Bareilles' creative process as she transforms personal grief

Variety Music·Jun 4, 2026·via Variety Music

Sara Bareilles Discusses Grief and Art in New Documentary

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Jun 4, 2026 1:03pm PT

Sara Bareilles and Director Josh Alexander on Turning Loss Into Musical Magic in the Tribeca-Premiering Documentary ‘Good Grief’

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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In writing an album that is largely about loss and calling it “Good Grief,” singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is clearly playing with the wording of that common phrase, finding a way to make it feel literal, not like an oxymoron. That carries over to the similarly titled documentary, “ Sara Bareilles: Good Grief ,” that is having its world premiere at New York’s Beacon Theatre Thursday night as part of the Tribeca Film Festival . This powerful and absorbing film is on the one hand as good a fly-on-the-wall rendering of what it’s like to be in a recording studio as you can get in a documentary, and on another hand, an unflinching look at different forms of grief and how anguish can be transmuted into art. Much tough stuff is dealt with during breaks in the studio, tears are shed, and it’s still a “good” time.