Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions | |
---|---|
Directed by | Taylor Swift |
Based on | Folklore by Taylor Swift |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Ethan Palmer |
Edited by | Laura Randolph |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Disney+ |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions is a 2020 American documentary concert film directed and produced by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on Disney+ on November 25, 2020. The documentary is set at Long Pond Studio, an isolated recording studio in a forested area in the Hudson Valley, New York; Swift performs all of the 17 tracks of her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020), whilst discussing the creative process behind the songs with her collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. Swift made her debut as a film director with the documentary, which is her fourth film to be released on a streaming service, following the releases of The 1989 World Tour Live (2015), Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and Miss Americana (2020).
Receiving widespread critical acclaim, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions was praised for its music, intimacy, visuals, and insight provided on Folklore, with many critics labeling the film an admirable supplement to the album. It received an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Imbued by the sessions, Swift wrote and recorded several new songs off-screen while shooting the documentary. These songs came to be a major portion of Swift's ninth studio album, Evermore (2020), which was released fifteen days after the documentary. The film received the Gracie Grand Award for Outstanding Special or Variety.
Accompanying the film's premiere, a live album soundtrack, entitled Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (From the Disney+ Special), consisting of the recordings of the live performances featured in the film, was released to music streaming and digital platforms. For the 2023 Record Store Day, a run of 115,000 limited-edition vinyl LPs of the album was released exclusively via independent record stores across the world, selling out in three days. The album topped the US Billboard Soundtracks, Vinyl Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, and Tastemaker Albums charts, and became the first-ever Record Store Day-exclusive in history to enter the top 10 of the overall Billboard 200 chart, landing at number three.