Mariah Carey leaped at the chance to reignite her movie career in independent film Tennessee - so she could exorcise the demons of 2001 flop Glitter.

The movie was a critical and commercial failure, and acting offers dried up for Carey.

Seven years on the star returns to the big screen, playing a waitress in Tennessee, after producer Lee Daniels offered to help her find her way back in Hollywood.

She says, "It was cool for Lee Daniels to take a chance on me because obviously, you know, not everybody was going to do that."

The film - about two men on a journey to find their estranged father, in a bid to save their younger brother from leukaemia - will premiere on Saturday at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival.