The Eddie Vedder documentary Matter of Time had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival Thursday, and while it features portions of a 2023 Seattle concert by Vedder, it’s much more than a concert film.
The film shines a light on EB Research Partnership, which was started by Eddie and his wife, Jill Vedder, to find a cure for the rare skin disease epidermolysis bullosa. The doc also focuses on researchers searching for a cure and families affected by it.
And while it may seem like a challenge to balance all three in one film, director Matt Finlin says that wasn’t the case.
“It wasn’t hard because we all led … with the EB community first,” he tells ABC Audio. “Ed’s performance kind of provided the rhythm of everything and … the EB community and the researchers and these families provided the heartbeat.”
Finlin calls Vedder “a very humble collaborator” and said he made it easy to pick songs for the film.
“All of the performances really tied into the storytelling,” he shares. “The songs really organically … just kind of tied into what was happening over those two days in Seattle.”
The Vedders got involved in the community over 10 years ago. Since then three EB treatments have been approved by the FDA, and they’re still hoping for a cure.
“It’s definitely really incredible to see how much has happened just in the past couple years where it really does feel like, oh yeah, we got this,” Jill says.
As for how folks can do their part, Michael Hund, CEO of EB Research Partnership, thinks a good start is simply watching the film.
“The greatest gift that Matt Finlin has given us is to tell these stories,” he says. “It’s a gift to the community to be able to have someone that can tell the story in a way that is an entry point for so many people.”
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