A documentary on Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ will feature never-before-seen footage

The creation of Marvin Gaye’s seminal 1971 release, “What’s Going On,” will be traced in an upcoming documentary.

Titled “Marvin, What’s Going On?” the film is the first to be approved by the family of the late revered soul singer.

Noah Media Group and Greenlight are developing the film, according to Variety.

The documentary, which is scheduled to go into production this year for a 2017 release, will be filmed on location in Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington, and will feature exclusive interviews with some of Motown’s top stars and never-before-seen archive footage provided by the singer’s family.

Gabriel Clarke and Torquil Jones will co-direct and the singer’s three children – Nona, Marvin III and Frankie – and his former wife, Janis, have contributed.

In a joint statement, Gaye’s children said: “We look forward to participating and sharing what we can through friends, family, photos, footage and priceless stories that only those who knew our father up close and personal would know, as well as his contemporaries, purists and fans who have studied him and his art over decades.”

Recorded at the height of Detroit’s Motown era, “What’s Going On” was a meditation on social ills, inspired by the Vietnam War and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The album, producers pointed out, “challenged America and the world to self-reflect, going on to inspire a generation of artists and music lovers. The relevance of [his] masterpiece…is as strong as ever.”

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