Levon Helm, the one true Southerner in a band that embodied the South, the drummer, singer and backbone of The Band, was nearly silenced. His initial bout with throat cancer almost took away his voice, leaving him with nothing but a whisper. Thank God that shit eased up. In 2007, after almost two decades without a studio album, Helm released the critically acclaimed Americana beauty Dirt Farmer. And director Jacob Hatley, who will be at Cinefamily on Wednesday, was at Helm's Woodstock studio to capture the resurrected creative process during the two years leading up to Dirt Farmer's completion. Ain't in It for My Health shows Helm at the Barn with his guitar, smiling, laughing, doing doughnuts on his tractor, telling stories about the venomous spurs on the hind legs of a duck-billed platypus — all the things that endear people to his unwavering character. Dirt Farmer wasn't the last studio album Helm made before his death in 2012, but it was the one that put him back into the spotlight, earning him and The Band loads of overdue recognition. All well and good, though we were just damn happy he was singing again. Cinefamily, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., Fairfax District; Wed., June 12, 7:30 p.m.; $12, free for members. (323) 655-2510, cinefamily.org.

Wed., June 12, 7:30 p.m., 2013

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