NICO-ICON

Director Suzanne Ofteringer / 1995 / Germany

"The only reason I don't kill myself is, in fact, because I am unique"- Nico

An enthralling investigation of an amazing identity and an intensely rigorous dissection of the nature of worship, Susanne Ofteringer traces the rollercoaster ride that was Nico's life.

Her birth certificate read Christa Paffgen, but more than a change of name made her an enduring contemporary icon. With its exhaustive compilation of encounters, film extracts and music, Nico-Icon follows the nascent celebrity from the ruins of post-war Berlin to the world of fashion and glamour; from Fellini's La Dolce Vita to the New York underground scene.

Nico was Andy Warhol's moon goddess, and her throaty vocals defined the early sound of the Velvet Underground. Nico played a silent beauty to the eager adoration of Lou Reed, lackson Browne, Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop and a succes­sion of lesser consorts. She became the idol of despair for a legion of fans, and her constant heroin use eventually lead to an undignified death in 1988 that was almost four decades in the making. An astounding biographical docu­ment of a unique individual.

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