Enter director Jeff Feuerzeig whose film “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” played at Sundance 2005 and won Feuerzeig the best direction award. SFist was lucky enough to catch the film at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival last year where it won the audience award for best documentary. Among many of the excellent rock biopics that have come out in recent years, “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” stands out because it portrays genius beset by mental illness and a form of self-destruction that you can’t blame on the musician. It is also one of the most touching films we’ve ever seen.

Henry Rosenthal, a San Francisco local, produced the film. “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” is being released this Friday, so make sure to check it out at one of the many area theaters it will be playing in. Henry submitted to the SFist interview process and provides insight into the film as well as tips for aspiring car jackers and nostalgia for lower bridge tolls.

Where can people see the film at?
The Devil and Daniel Johnston opens Bay Area wide on April 7 at the Lumiere in San Francisco, the Shattuck in Berkeley, the Aquarius Twin in Palo Alto, the Century Five in Pleasant Hill, the Marin Three in Sausalito, and the Camera Stadium 12 in San Jose.

What was the most surprising thing to you about Daniel Johnston?
I knew Daniel was creative, prolific, funny, unpredictable, and intense before I met him, but I was unprepared for his blinding brilliance that emerges in all sorts of ways. He uses his intelligence to manipulate a circus of activity around him for his own mysterious ends.

What's your favorite Daniel Johnston song?
“Speeding Motorcycle” recorded over the phone with Yo La Tengo during the famous WFMU broadcast. I could listen to it over and over again forever.

Daniel's life seems so tragic, and yet is music is hopeful-- why do you think this is?
The tragedy of Daniel’s life is the illness that afflicts him, but he has harnessed that illness to the extent he is able, and turned it into an incredible engine to drive his natural creativity and intelligence. I guess you could say he made lemonade for us all to enjoy.

What projects are you working on now?
Shepherding the release of The Devil and Daniel Johnston worldwide will occupy most of the next year, but I am also completing a documentary about Nollywood, the first digitally-based film industry in the world based in Nigeria and directed by Jamie Meltzer who made the incredible Off the Charts: The Song Poem Story.

Where's your favorite place to watch movies in the Bay Area?
The Dolby Laboratories screening room at 100 Potrero. Projection and sound don’t get better, and the seats are very comfy.