MORGAN LANDER: KITTIE Documentary Is As Much About Finding Forgiveness As It Is About Telling A Story

Guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander of the Canadian metal band KITTIE spoke to The London Free Press about the group's upcoming 20th-anniversary documentary, which is being directed by Rob McCallum ("Missing Mom").

"It's really exciting," Lander said.

"This has been as much a journey of overcoming obstacles, reaching out to former members and finding forgiveness as much as it is about telling a story."

She added: "You don't have to be a fan of the band to respect and enjoy the story. Hopefully, it will draw a wider audience. But this is what our fans have been asking for for a long time and as long as they're happy, we're happy."

McCallum, who interviewed current and former members of KITTIE for the documentary, will also be filming the band when they emnbark on a U.S. tour in June.

"They've always had an incredible following in Canada, but as you go south, the bigger it gets," said McCallum.

"People really don't know the story of KITTIE, no matter what they've read or think they know," he added.

"This will be a story about the importance of family, passion and heavy metal mayhem."

KITTIE last year raised $40,000 via a crowd funding campaign for the documentary.

In addition to paying for the production costs of the 20th-anniversary documentary DVD, the Indiegogo campaign will help fund a tell-all book that "digs deep to give [the fans] the story behind the music." KITTIE is working on the official band biography with Mark Eglinton, an author, journalist and film-producer currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland who co-authored former PANTERA/DOWN and current KILL DEVIL HILL bassist Rex Brown's memoir, "Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera", and whose first book, titled "James Hetfield: The Wolf At Metallica's Door", was published in April 2010.

The project will feature contributions from all of KITTIE's current and former members, including Talena Atfield, Lisa Marx, Jennifer Arroyo and Ivana Vujic. "That's what makes it outstanding for the fans, because we have had a tumultuous time in terms of (changing) some band members and we've had some bad blood with people," Lander said. "But I feel like time heals all (wounds) and we were able to put a lot of those things aside in order to celebrate the time we did have in the band together."

Pictured below: KITTIE 1996 - Present

From left to right: Talena Atfield, Fallon Bowman, Tanya Candler, Mercedes Lander, Morgan Lander, Tara McLeod, Trish Doan, Ivy Jenkins and Jennifer Arroyo

KITTIE 2014: