Jini Dellaccio

The remarkable story of Jini Dellaccio, and the trail she blazed on the music photography scene back in the 1960s, inspired a documentary film that is now set to premier at the Seattle International Film Festival.

People like Jini Dellaccio don't come along too often, which is why it's particularly fitting her story is being told in the documentary film 'Her Aim is True," which is set to premier at the prestigious Seattle International Film Festival on May 26 & 27 .

The great lady herself, now a sprightly 96, was born in a goat shed in Indiana during the Great Depression, played sax in an all-girl band in the 1930s and 40s and didn't discover rock photography until she hit middle age. Then she made up for lost time, turning her Hasselblad, or her 'Hassy' as she affectionately called it, on artistes such as Neil Young, The Who, the Rolling Stones, Pete Townsend, The Sonics, Mitch Ryder, The Wailers and the Detroit Wheels and a long list of other great names. Moving on to do other things in the early 1970s, her work became largely forgotten for a number of years until the book 'Jini Dellaccio: Rock & Roll' brought together her greatest images and introduced her to a whole new audience in time for her 92nd birthday.

One of those who came across Jini at that time was filmmaker Karen Whitehead, and she was instantly smitten by the story of the lady who was out there shooting pictures of cutting edge musicians and blazing a trail for female photographers years before the likes of Annie Leibovitz came to prominence. Karen decided virtually on the spot that this was a story that needed to be told, and with the support of many backers her 70 minute film has now been completed, and is about to premiere at the prestigious Seattle International Film Festival.

"There was immediately something intriguing to me about Jini's story as the rock photographer no one has ever heard of," says Karen. "I was struck by her stunning archive, which had been hidden from the mainstream for decades. As a filmmaker and journalist I knew I had to find a way to tell Jini's story and share her artistry."

Three years of hard work followed, and one of the most riveting moments within the film occurs when Jini is given the opportunity to borrow a state-of-the-art Hasselblad H4D-40 and to undertake a shoot with contemporary Seattle band The Moondoggies. It's as though she's just stepped back in time, and the feel for the Hasselblad is as instinctive as it ever was, some forty years on.

"Jini just loves young people," says Karen, "and has a remarkable ability to form close bonds with her subjects. By giving her the latest in Hasselblad's technology to use and introducing her to a new generation of musicians, it helped me to tell Jini's inspiring story in a way far beyond my original expectations."

The hope is that Jini herself will be in the audience to witness that first screening, and with more than 150,000 attendees expected throughout the festival it will be a great place to start spreading the word about the pioneering rock photographer the world had largely forgotten.