Expected more

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Jini Dellaccio was the first to capture what it means to be a rock star and human at the same time. She shows us real musicians in their beauty, glory, and exhaustion, interacting authentically with their surroundings and their collaborators. It was so thrilling for me to watch this pure art process come to life on the screen. Personally I would love for many more people to be aware of the enormous contribution that Jini has made to American art. Witnessing true, passionately-created art brings energy and joy to our hearts. I saw this happen before my eyes at a recent screening of Her Aim Is True, where every audience member was touched by the power, authenticity, and purity that the work of this artist brings to our heritage.

If you get the opportunity to see this movie - and hopefully it will soon be in much wider release - by all means see it. What we have here is a perfect example of how film can truly make a difference by recording for generations to come a maverick artist who may otherwise have remained unknown to a wider audience. This film not only captures the sounds and the vibe of the music scene of the Pacific Northwest in the 60s and 70s, it also uses footage from interviews with this maverick artist to give a true sense of what it is like to cross boundaries of age, gender and cultural difference to truly connect and understand another person and, through this understanding, capture the essence of another person through photography. There is a lesson for all of us both as creators and appreciators of the arts. This was a true inspiration. Brava!

Two years ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Jini Dellaccio for a magazine article I was writing. To meet Jini is to be swept up in the "Jini magic"--for to meet her is to be inspired by her. I am roughly the same age (that would be solidly middle-aged) as Jini was when she began photographing the garage rock bands of the Pacific Northwest, but this was just one remarkable stop on a career she made up as she went along. Jini never met a challenge she couldn't tackle--if she didn't know how to do something, she told people she did and then figured out how to do it. This is why I try to channel Jini now when I find myself thinking I'm too old to try something new. Director Karen Whitehead has perfectly captured the pioneering spirit of this remarkable woman in her film "Her Aim Is True." I've seen it three times, and I still choke up in the same spots. Jini was a woman ahead of her time, but she accomplished what she did without any of the modern-day self-promotion we are so used to; she let the work speak for itself, and it is breathtaking work, make no doubt about it. See the movie if you are a rock history buff (the archival footage is fascinating), but be prepared to come away inspired by the woman who made so many of those bands come alive, all while remaining true to her own vision. Jini is a true original, and we are fortunate indeed to have this film tribute to her life and work.

I had never heard of Jini Dellaccio but came out of this film in love with her and her story. Filmmaker Karen Whitehead's portrait of Jini is inspiring--not because she picked out the good stuff to create a vanity piece, but because she tells a real story of a real person who the audience will certainly wish they knew. Jini was a middle-aged housewife and former jazz musician who fell into photography almost accidentally--then sweetly talked her way into creating album covers and photographing rock concerts. The result was beautiful and intimate images obviously made possible by a great rapport with her subjects, young rock stars who must have been startled by the warmth and acceptance exhibited by this motherly figure at a time when mothers didn't approve of boys with long hair! If the story weren't recommendation enough, the soundtrack, featuring many of the bands Jini captured, helps to create a goosebumps-inducing film-going experience.