Heath Ledger's Life & Career Is Celebrated in a documentary - "I Am Heath

mediaexpress.reuters.com: Nine years after his untimely death, audiences are seeing a different side of Australian actor Heath Ledger through the lens of his own camera.

Documentary "I am Heath Ledger" uses thousands of hours of self video shot by Ledger, as well as his art work and music videos, to paint a portrait of the young actor who took Hollywood by storm in roles like "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Dark Knight."

It's also a film that seeks to counteract the perception that Ledger's death at 28 of an accidental overdose from a cocktail of painkillers, anxiety and insomnia medication was driven by despair.

Not so, Ledger's Hollywood agent Steve Alexander says in the film, which was launched at the Tribeca film festival.

Rather than dwell on his January 2008 death in New York, the film uses Ledger's own video archives and interviews with his family and closest friends to "celebrate Heath's life and to tell the story of this multi-faceted artist," director and producer Derik Murray told Reuters Television.

It portrays Ledger as a force of nature who longed for adventure, was generous with his friends, and whose passions ranged from chess to acting and making music videos. His non-stop energy also meant he rarely slept a full night.

While Ledger's parents and sisters, as well as friends including Naomi Watts and director Ang Lee, were interviewed for the film, Michelle Williams' - Ledger's former fiancé and mother of his daughter Matilda - chose not to take part.

Murray said Williams' support was integral to the film "but she really didn't feel she wanted to be in front of the camera."

Ledger was found dead a few months after the couple split up and