The Devil and Daniel Johnston is directed by Jeff Feuerzeig who was inspired by listening to a legendary hour-long broadcast by Daniel Johnston in 1990.

Johnston had put together comedy skits with multiple voices of boys and girls played by him, hilarious self-interviews and improvised songs from his newest album which he called "1990". The entire broadcast was fed from a telephone in a mental institution in West Virginia where Johnston was staying.

Feuerzeig describes this broadcast as momentous and memorable as Orson Welles The War of the Worlds. He was convinced that if he could make a movie that incorporated the innovative nature of the broadcast, he would have produced a true portrayal of Daniel Johnston.

Johnston grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family in Virginia. He was compulsively creating films, comic-style books and writing songs from a very young age. While in college, Johnston began to exhibit symptoms of manic depression. He ran away with a travelling circus and settled in Austin, Texas. Johnston's homemade folk songs began to make quite an impact in Texas on the underground music scene.

Daniel Johnston's fanbase included the lead singer of Nirvana and iconic musician, Kurt Cobain who described Johnston as the greatest living songwriter ever. At the MTV Music Awards, Kurt Cobain wore a t-shirt with a picture of Johnston. The music industry and music labels began to take some interest in this singer-songwriter.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston opens with Daniel Johnston stating how he considers himself now to be little more than "the ghost of Daniel Johnston".  Johnston is currently dependent on his elderly parents in Texas. The documentary exposes Johnston's phenomenol talent and his battle with mental illness.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston won the Documentary directing award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston opens on Friday, 5th May.