Kurt Cobain would have turned 41 yesterday.

The Nirvana frontman wasn’t even 30 years old when he died in 1994, but songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” were practically anthems for the 90s.

Kurt Cobain: About a Son And whether the timing was a deliberate act of commemoration or sheer coincidence, AJ Schnack‘s Kurt Cobain: About a Son (first released in October 2007) has just been released on DVD. It’s getting all sorts of great press — the LA Times calls the film a “work of startling intimacy,” and in The Trades, reviewer Molly Bishop notes that the film is an “innovative documentary” that goes beyond the standard “biopic of a dead rock star” formula.

But even though a filmmaker’s able to make a critically-acclaimed documentary about an iconic musician, there’s no real guarantee that the movie will get the distribution deals it needs to be seen by a wide audience. On his blog, AJ writes about the process of getting the film out there, especially for people who weren’t able to catch it while it was on the festival circuit or in theaters last fall.

It’s not been a smooth journey, I will say quite frankly, and there were days when I started to wonder if there’d ever be a DVD release, and if there was one, whether I’d write anything about it here. But ultimately, I’m proud and happy that all the folks who have written me asking why the film didn’t come to theatres in Florida or Texas or Iowa or wherever, can now get the film from Netflix or Amazon or whatever outlet they choose.

Congratulations, AJ. We’re looking forward to watching those extras on the DVD.

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Catherine Jhee was formerly a producer with POV Interactive.