Segments of those interviews, along with contemporary scenes from Blume’s life and interviews with writers and celebrities influenced by the author’s unfiltered portraits of childhood and adolescence, make up “Judy Blume Forever.” The 97-minute documentary doesn’t delve into each of the 29 books Blume published. Eventually, the directing duo convinced Blume to sit in front of their cameras, where she discussed not only her career, but also the people and places who influenced her writing. “I think she was unsure about entering this thing that she knew was going to be a huge time commitment where she would be opening herself up,” says Pardo.

Blume, the 84-year-old children’s and young adult literary juggernaut, lives a quiet life in Florida’s Key West, where she owns a bookstore. ( Judy Blume Forever will be available on Amazon Prime Video later this month.It took “ Judy Blume Forever” directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok close to two years to convince Judy Blume to be the subject of a documentary. She’s also resolute against critics who felt she dealt too honestly with issues like bullying or teenage sexual intercourse-and against the idea of banning books, something she faced during the 1980s and something that’s happening again today.

(At least two of them, seen in the film, she communicated with for years.) Blume comes across, as she does in her books, as unflinchingly honest, and responsive to her young fans. As with most documentaries, this one features interviews with many people, including the author herself, but it also employs some colorful animations (a bit like the style of some of Blume’s books aimed at children and young adults, from Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret to Deenie to Forever…and beyond.īlume, the only one of these films’ subjects still alive (she lives in Key West, where she owns a bookstore), often tells her own story, of growing up in suburban New Jersey in the sometimes stultifying 1950s, marrying young, and trying first to fit into the mold of happy housewife before fighting to break out of it. First up: Judy Blume Forever, from filmmakers Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok.

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