Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens directed the film , while Brett Ratner and Sheila Nevins served as executive producers on the film under their RatPac Documentary Films and HBO Documentary Films banner . According to '' USA Today '' the film is " an intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty ... it loosely chronicles their lives through interviews , photos , footage and vintage home movies ... It culminates in a moving scene , just as Reynolds is preparing to receive the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award , which Fisher presented to her mother . " The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 14 , 2016 . It was also screened at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3 , 2016 and at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival on October 14 , 2016 . It went on to screen at the New York Film Festival on October 10 , 2016 and the AFI Fest on November 13 , 2016
2016 Cannes Film Festival
2016 Cannes Film Festival
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds