The new documentary film Miss Sharon Jones! opens with the titular, ebullient soul singer getting her head shaved. It's a sobering way to set the stage for the story that follows: Sharon's fierce fight with cancer as the backdrop in the run-up to a major homecoming show at New York's Beacon Theatre. For film director Barbara Kopple, it was the first time she met her screen star.

"I was aware she was sick," Kopple tells John Schaefer, "but it was never the reason for doing the film."

The reason for doing the film was the same reason audiences around the world have been captivated by the diminutive singer: she's a force of nature. As has been well-publicized, Jones worked for many years as a corrections officer before finding her performance identity (and band, the razor-sharp retro outfit The Dap-Kings) relatively late in life. And the film's opening scene serves as a stark reminder that this woman simply doesn't give up. 

The film opens in New York on July 29, and across the country throughout the summer.