The feature-length documentary “You Fuckers Figure It Out: A Jason Molina Story” was completed in 2025 and is expected to have its premiere in the first half of 2026. Skirting expectations of a music biopic, the film explores the much missed Americana legend Molina’s Rust Belt childhood, blue-collar ethos, and enigmatic nature – the elements that shaped his life and music.
Director Tommy Nickoloff was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio. “You Fuckers Figure It Out: A Jason Molina Story,” which he produced, directed, edited, illustrated, and self-funded, is his first film. Nickoloff first met Jason Molina in 1988 on a football (soccer) field at high school in Lorain, Ohio. Their long-standing friendship provided rare access to a close-knit circle of friends and collaborators, many of whom have rarely – if ever – shared their stories publicly.
The documentary sees Molina’s siblings and Jason’s friends from childhood and Oberlin College deliver firsthand accounts of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Molina’s bandmates from Chronic Insanity and the Spineriders reflect on the heavy-metal and punk-rock years.
Songs: Ohia members Todd Jacops, Mike McCartney, Geof Comings, Bruce Comings, and Max Winter discuss the band’s origins. Artist William Schaff, who created the “Magnolia Electric Company” album artwork, also joins the cast. Together, they offer heartfelt perspectives shaped by memory, humour, and loss. Schaff said: “The thing that makes this documentary great is it’s talking to the people who knew him before he was ‘him.” Winter adds: “It was an honour to be interviewed for this documentary which, not coincidentally, happens to be the only one I can imagine Jason approving of.”
The documentary has been submitted to a number of film festivals with additional submissions in the near future. .Nickoloff hopes to announce the world premiere in April 2026. You can find out more about the film at www.yffio.com.
You can see the film’s trailer below.
