Madonna Covers Elliott Smith's 'Between the Bars' [VIDEO]: 'Material Girl' Performs Deceased Singer's Song for Short Film 'Art for Freedom' Initiative

Last night, international superstar Madonna premiered her new 17-minute short film, secretprojectrevolution, at the Gagosian Gallery in New York City, marking the start of her Art for Freedom initiative, "an online global initiative to further freedom of expression." The movie premiere was also accompanied by an art piece that featured the Material Girl's cover of deceased singer-songwriter Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars."

Check out Madonna's cover of Elliott Smith's song right here:

Clearly a moving song, Madonna's visuals help sell her over all message for the Art for Freedom movement she has started. In a statement, she said her goal was to "show by the example of secretprojectrevolution my creative commitment to inspire change in the world through artistic expression. I hope my film and other submissions to Art for Freedom will be a call to action and give people a place to voice their own creative expression to help fight oppression, intolerance and complacency."

secretprojectrevolution  was available for free on BitTorrent and was directed by Steven Klein. The director said the film examines "our private prisons. It questions what we do, how we do it and how we treat others. It questions our governments, and our collective thought patterns. Think about it - the power of art can lead to peace."

The BitTorrent film was also accompanied by bonus content, including still photos, trailers, and an exclusive interview with the pop singer.

Check out the original version of this song, written and performed by the late Elliott Smith, off of the 1997 album Either/Or: