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Sly and the Family Stone Documentary Coming in 2019

INDIO, CA - APRIL 18: Musician Sly Stone performs during day 3 of the Coachella Valley Music & Art Festival 2010 held at The Empire Polo Club on April 18, 2010 in Indio, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)

A feature-length documentary about Sly and the Family Stone will be released in 2019, Deadline reports. The film will reportedly trace the seminal funk band’s influence and chronicle frontman Sly Stone’s past decade, in which he struggled with homelessness while waging a high-profile lawsuit with former managers over millions in allegedly unpaid royalties. Stone was awarded a $5 million verdict in 2015.

“This was [produced] at a time in his life when things were really difficult for Sly,” director Brady Spensor told Deadline in a statement. “I became his friend at his most down and out, most financially broke, and feel incredibly grateful for Sly’s trust and participation allowing me to document the end of a tragic spiral, then the transition and the outcome of Sly winning a significant lawsuit that may have influenced The Music Modernization Act.”

Stone’s fall from grace was also explored in the Michael Rubenstone-directed film On the Sly: In Search of the Family Stone, which premiered at last year’s Slamdance Festival. Spensor’s film, entitled Dance to the Streaming Music, is currently being shopped to distributors. Stone released his latest album I’m Back! Family & Friends, featuring three new songs and remixes of old material, in 2011.