‘Judy Blume Forever’ documentary portrays author’s controversial career

The movie trailer for Judy Blume’s documentary, ‘Judy Blume Forever’, was released Wednesday. It celebrates the author’s life and her work in influencing young girls’ lives as they deal with issues of maturity as they grow up. The filmmakers also address the criticism Blume has received from her work, as she “fights back against censorship” to this day.

Imagine Documentaries, in partnership with Prime Video, shared the trailer, where two of the 85-year-old’s fans, filmmakers Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok, showcase Blume’s journey from a curious, anxious child to an influential young adults’ author.

From fearful teen to banned writer

According to the film’s official synopsis, ‘Judy Blume Forever’, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January, portrays Blume as the pioneer who elevated the physical and emotional lives of teenagers and went on to become a “banned writer who continues to fight back against censorship today.”

To demonstrate the nuance of how a child experiences the world, the documentary integrates aspects of animation. The visual effect is intended to capture the magic and awkwardness of being young, as well as portray conversations with authors, artists, and fans, in a dream-like sense as they celebrate Blume’s legacy.

Leah Wolchok reveals the making of the film

Co-director Leah Wolchok said that the filmmakers wanted to capture why it was Blume’s instinct to address young people as they are on the cusp of adolescence.

“[We] wanted to explore why Judy was drawn to writing about the cusp, that liminal moment between childhood and adolescence,” Wolchok said. “We wanted to tell a feminist coming-of-age story about a woman who pushed back against societal expectations to find her voice.”

“And in finding her voice, changed her own life and the lives of generations of readers.”

Judy Blume’s mixed mail

Wolchok said she and Pardo were not aware that conservatives write Blume a lot of letters saying her work is too sexually explicit for children, and in response, Blume has “fierce opposition to right wing censors.”

However, Blume also receives encouraging letters from fans, and in some cases even keeps up correspondence with them for decades.

“Kids poured their hearts out to her, and very often, she wrote back,” Pardo said. “There are some readers she even corresponded with over decades.

“The level of intimacy in the letters said so much to us about how connected readers felt to Judy, and how meaningful it is to kids when a book makes them feel safe.”

‘Judy Blume Forever’ will be available for streaming on Prime Video as of April 21.

Another Judy Blume movie, Lionsgate’s adaptation of Blume’s 1970 novel ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’, starring Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, and Kathy Bates, will be in theaters April 28.