Kittie: Origins/Evolutions

The idea for Kittie: Origins/Evolutions was first conceived in 2013 by founding members Morgan and Mercedes Lander in order to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary, at a time when Kittie's future as a band remained uncertain.[4][1] Production on Kittie: Origins/Evolutions began in early 2014,[4] and on March 29, 2014, an Indiegogo campaign was set up to fund production of the documentary, as well as a tell-all book.[5] The campaign's goal of CA$20,000 was met within eight hours,[6] and went onto gross over CA$40,000.[7] The band initially reached out to David Brodsky to direct the documentary, but he was unable to do so.[8]

In January 2015, Kittie bassist Trish Doan reached out to Rob McCallum, asking if he would be interested in directing a documentary about the band.[8] McCallum and Doan had been acquainted since college, and McCallum had previously reached out to Kittie eight months prior to obtain permission to use a Kittie song in one of his other documentaries, Nintendo Quest (2015).[8] McCallum agreed, and quickly became frustrated with his research after finding that a lot of press coverage of the band "was really hug up on an apparent 'gender curiosity.' "[9] He subsequently strove to avoid that, and gave the band a “rags to riches” story to work with.[8] McCallum also sought to remove "any presence of himself" from the documentary, in order to give the band "a forum in which to tell their story, those events, from their very distinct perspective."[8] McCallum filmed interviews with most of the band's current and former members, bar bassist Talena Atfield and guitarist Lisa Marx (who declined to participate), between March and October 2015.[9] McCallum also utilized a plethora of archival footage the band had recorded from the late 1990s to 2013.[9][10]

The documentary's rough cut, from July 2015, lasted four hours long; by September 2015, McCallum had reduced its length to two-and-a-half hours, removing parts which were repetitious.[8][9] Thereafter, the band and McCallum attempted to shop the film around to distributors. However, most distributors were unwilling to take on a film of its length, resulting in the idea of the film being split into two parts: "Kittie: Origins", detailing the band's beginnings, and "Kittie: Evolutions", about the band's progression and future.[11][4] The film's title of Kittie: Origins/Evolutions was revealed in March 2016.[4] By May 2016, "Origins" had a length of 90 minutes, whilst "Evolutions" had a length of 88 minutes.[11]

Production became slower and more frustrating for McCallum and the Lander sisters during 2017, as further reductions were made to compile both "Origins" and "Evolutions" into a single, 94 minute film.[12] Furthermore, Trish Doan had died on February 11, 2017, aged 31, which left McCallum and the Lander sisters "wondering what matters most in the world".[12] In August 2017, Kittie sold the documentary's worldwide rights to Lightyear Entertainment, with distribution from Universal Music Group.[12][13]

Kittie: Origins/Evolutions received generally positive reviews from critics.[14] Denize Falzon of Exclaim! gave the documentary an 9 out of 10, stating that it did "an excellent job" at telling the band's "colourful and fascinating" story.[15] Cryptic Rock's Jeannie Blue called it "Honest, sincere, and fully entertaining" and compared its style to VH-1's Behind the Music "due its professional and fair representation of Kittie’s career to date".[16] Carl Fisher of GBHBL found it to be "very well made and interesting", but noted the absence of some finer details from Kittie's history, such as their 2003 lawsuit with Artemis Records.[17]