In her own words, comedienne Gilda Radner reflects on her life and career, as LOVE, GILDA opens a unique window into the honest and whimsical world of a beloved performer whose greatest role was sharing her story.
    The documentary quickly becomes autobiographical as director Lisa D'Apolito Weaves together Gilda's recently discovered and never-seen-before audiotapes and rare home movies, adding interviews with friends (Lorne Michaels, Laraine Newman, Paul Shaffer, Chevy Chase and Martin Short).
    It's frankly astonishing about the film that Radner actually narrates much of her own life – it's as if she was talking directly to us, the audience. A clear and quite poignant portrait emerges of a fragile yet fiercely determined woman, who craved love above all.
    And instead of the usual talking head reminiscences, Radner's diaries are movingly read by modern-day comedians inspired by Gilda (Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Cecily Strong).

FROM THE DIRECTOR – LISA D'APOLITO

    My Gilda journey started seven years ago when I walked through the red door of a townhouse in New York City and was greeted by a beautiful mural of smiling Gilda Radner. I was working as head of production of an advertising agency and we had been asked to do a fundraising video for Gilda's club, a non-profit organization that supports people and their families living with cancer, founded by Gilda's husband, Gene Wilder after she died from ovarian cancer.
    Over the years, I continued to direct the videos and interview the members of Gilda's Club on camera. I realized their deep connection to Gilda as they would speak about her as if she were a friend and could identify with her journey. One day, I was filming the kids at Camp Sparkle (named after Gilda's beloved dog) and a little girl named Ruth from St Lucia was drawing Roseanne Roseannadanna. I asked her what she was doing and she said "I'm drawing Gilda".     This Is when I realized that Gilda had a truly unique legacy and I wanted to do a film about her. Her spirit lives on in the world of comedy as she has inspired so many comedians but her spirit also lives on in an even more important way.
    I read Gilda's autobiography It's Always Something which gave me an insight into Gilda's story. I started to interview her friends and family and got to know what a wonderful person she was. Then, everything changed and the real Gilda journey began. Gilda's brother, Michael gave me access to Gilda's collection of boxes that have been in storage since she died. In the boxes were photos, journals and 32 hours of audio cassette tapes she recorded in order to write her book. It was wonderful listening to Gilda's voice--- she was so funny, so emotional, so honest. That was when I knew I had to tell the story from Gilda's point of view. This proved to be a challenging endeavor because the audio tapes were damaged, some beyond repair.
    For me, the most interesting treasure was Gilda's journals and writings. One journal, written in the summer of 1978 when she was at the height of her television fame, described Gilda's internal struggles, her writing was raw and honest. There was also a journal where Gilda made fun of being famous.
    To me, these writings became Gilda's inner voice. I did not have enough material from these journals and audio tapes to make the film that I envisioned so I went on a mission to find more. I searched every library, museum, and every place Gilda lived or performed. Gilda's friends also searched and generously donated whatever they found.
    Because of my experience as an actress, I approached portraying Gilda's character as if I was playing her in a film or play. Along with having access to this wonderful material came the creative responsibility to tell her story in a truthful but respectful, non-exploitive way.
    The film is made up of Gilda's voice narrating her story, her performances that give insight into her life, interviews with her friends, interviews with contemporary comedians about how she inspired them and her 'inner' voice as written her journals.
    My hope with Love, Gilda is that the audience will go on their own journey with Gilda and that people who love her, discover more about her and people who have never heard of her, are inspired by her story and grow to love her too.
           – Lisa D'Apolito