Heath Ledger’s oldest sister, Kate Ledger, has appeared on The Project to talk about the incredibly raw documentary I Am Heath Ledger.
The doco, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this month, features rare and intimate footage of the late actor in the days, months and years prior to his untimely passing — most of which was new to Kate.
And while Heath’s family gave filmmakers Adrian Buitenhuis and Derik Murray their blessing to proceed with the doco, Kate said she was still taken aback by the confronting footage.
“He was incredibly private,” she explained to the panel on Wednesday. “None of the footage that’s shown in the film actually came from the family. In fact, I didn’t even know it was in there until I saw it myself.”
“[It was] incredibly emotional,” she added. “I think I screamed and cried through the whole first viewing. It’s quite a cathartic experience, especially for our family.”
Kate went on to explain that watching her late brother’s films has been “very hard” but she’s learning to view them in a different light.
“I now have 13-year-old girls who are wanting to see the films. So, through them I’m finding that it’s become a little easier for me to see the joy that it gives them,” Kate said.
WATCH: Kate Ledger talks about watching her brother’s doco for the first time. Post continues…
The doco comes nine years after Heath tragically passed away in New York City in 2008 from cardiac arrest brought on by a prescription drug overdose. He was just 28.
While Heath’s former partner and the mother of his daughter, Matilda, Michelle Williams, doesn’t make an appearance in the film, the star has previously spoken out about the devastating impact of losing him.
“In all honesty, for pretty much everything else, I feel like I’m a believer in not fighting circumstances, accepting where you are and where you’ve been,” she told Porter magazine last year.
“In pretty much all senses but one. I would be able to go totally down that line of thinking were it not for Matilda not having her dad. You know that’s just something that doesn’t … I mean, it just won’t ever be right.”
Friends close to the family say Matilda is growing up to be the spitting image of her late father.
Michelle is pictured alongside daughter Matilda.
“His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up in the best memories of him.”
The actress began dating Heath after meeting on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2004. The following year Michelle gave birth to a baby girl who they named Matilda Rose.
Two years later the couple called time on their relationship, just four months before the actor’s death.
WATCH: The trailer for I Am Heath Ledger offers a glimpse into the life of the celebrated actor.
