“I said, ‘Hi, my name is Varda Bar-Kar, I’m a filmmaker and I’d like to make a film about you,’” the London-born director tells Billboard. “And I said ‘no,’” interjects Ian with a mischievous smile.

This is FRESH AIR. Janis Ian, the singer-songwriter who had her first hit record as a teenager in the 1960s, is the subject of a new documentary, "Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, " now available to ...