Red Shirley is a short documentary film directed by Lou Reed. It tells the story of his cousin, Shirley Novick, living through World War I, fleeing Poland before World War II, and taking part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The film was shot by photographer Ralph Gibson, and the soundtrack was recorded by Metal Machine Trio.In 2011, Reed said there was a "great impetus" to create the film Red Shirley, given that a lot of information would be lost if he didn't. The film's world première was at the 2010 Visions du Réel festival in Nyon, Switzerland, before appearing in New York at the Jewish Film Festival. The trailer for the documentary featured a collection of photographs and a conversation between Reed and his cousin Novick. Novick's nickname is "Red Shirley", hence the title of the film.