In August 2008, Virgin Records tried to sue the band 30 Second to Mars, headed by front-man/actor Jared Leto (Fight Club, Mr. Nobody), for m.

Over the next eight and a half months, Leto and the band would head into the studio to record their third album, This Is War, both without the backing of their label, and with the m. lawsuit still hanging over their heads.

In April of the following year, the lawsuit was finally annulled, and the band announced they would be returning to their label, EMI/Virgin, for the release of the new record.

Along the way, it’s now surfaced that Leto and his fellow band – currently consisting of Leto, brother Shannon Leto, and Tomo Mili?evi? – were recording a documentary about the experience, Artifact, which has officially been accepted into this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Absolutely immense.

Leto has directed the documentary himself, under his usual pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, and we’ve now got our first two images of him in the film, as well as the following plot synopsis.

“Telling harsh truths about the modern music business, Artifact gives intimate access to singer/actor Jared Leto and his band Thirty Seconds to Mars as they battle their label in a brutal lawsuit and record their album This Is War. The film is a true artifact of our times, as its subjects struggle with big questions over art, money and integrity.”

The music industry has been changing so much in the past decade, and the labels’ attempts to hold over big artists like 30 Seconds is no secret, and a first-hand documentary of the experience is something I think the world would love to see.

Artifact will be premiering at Toronto this September, and I’m really hoping that it will secure distribution in the US and UK following its debut. For now, enjoy these first two images of Leto, which you can click to enlarge, followed by their brilliant music video for Kings and Queens, directed by Leto/Cubbins himself.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMrlHHVx8A’]