A new documentary explores the life of Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain is the focus of a new documentary that probes the life and untimely death of the Nirvana singer-guitarist.

It will be released in theaters next year and air exclusively on HBO, the network said Tuesday.

Co-produced by HBO Documentary Films, "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck" is the first documentary made with the cooperation of Cobain's family. It draws on home movies, journals and other personal archives. It features Nirvana songs and performances and previously unheard Cobain originals.

The film's director-producer, Brett Morgen, has previously made the documentaries "Crossfire Hurricane," about the Rolling Stones, and "The Kid Stays in the Picture."

Cobain formed Nirvana in 1985, and by the early 1990s was decreed the spokesman of Generation X. He died of suicide in 1994 at age 27.