Wrapping dexterous fingers around the nape of the guitar, the instrument becomes an extension of Hillel Slovak, the pioneer lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His face contorts on the fuzzy archival footage, a mixture of pleasure and pain — channeling the funky playing style imbued in earlier Red Hot albums.  

“The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel,” directed by Ben Feldman, premiered at South by Southwest on Friday at Alamo Lamar 6 and follows the narrative of the Israeli-American guitarist. Weaving archival video and images with contemporary interviews from bassist Flea (Michael Peter Balzary), lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis, drummer Jack Irons, and more, the documentary runs for a packed one hour and 33 minutes, a retelling of the formation of the Chili Peppers and ending with Slovak’s heroin overdose. 

“The first two interviews we did were Flea on day one and Anthony on day two,” film producer Marc D’Agostino said. “We came back from day two after getting Flea and Anthony’s interview, and Ben and I looked at each other and we were like ‘Well, no matter what happens from here, we can make this movie because they were generous with both their time and their emotion.’” 

Slovak’s digitally reconstructed voice narrates pages of his diary, a poetic scribbling that included beautifully detailed artwork. The audience is afforded a special lens into his happiness and heartbreaks, from playing in the band What is This? to other difficult decisions made. Drug addiction looms throughout, with Kiedis offering his own experiences with addiction. 

“(Slovak) just had this certain self-possession, and was gifted across so many different mediums,” Feldman said. “He was a very prolific artist, so there was a lot to choose from.” 

Zach Djanikian, who scored the documentary, said that the team caught a big break when a Dutch filmmaker who followed The Red Hot on their 1988 European tour gave Feldman the rights to his tape. The footage served as the climax for the documentary, showing Hillel right before he passed.

“Ben had reached out to him and said, ‘Is there any possibility that you have any of that raw footage?’’ Djanikian said. “He was like, ‘No, there’s no way that survived.’ A couple days later, he’s like, ‘You’ll never believe what I found in an office.’” 

A celebration of chosen family, the documentary portrays Slovak as undeniably effervescent. The trio met at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles and immediately bonded over music. During the three-hour interview, Flea chokes up when reminiscing on Slovak’s impact. 

“(Flea) came on his motorcycle, exactly on time,” Feldman said. “He was like, ‘Man, I didn’t sleep at all last night, not a wank.’ That’s not what you want to hear. … But then, he sat down … and opened himself up.” 

A riffing guitar remains constant in the documentary’s soundtrack, combined with What is This? and early Red Hot Chili Pepper tracks. “Riders on the Storm” by the Doors and “Age of Consent” by New Order make cameos to highlight significant milestones. 

“We didn’t want to make the Wikipedia entry about Hillel Slovak,” D’Agostino said. “We wanted to tell a character story where it has more of the contours of a narrative that you would see in a fiction movie, but it’s authentic.”