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Project Detail

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché

Synopsis

Poly Styrene was the first woman of colour in the UK to front a successful rock band. She introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. As the frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements.
But the late punk maverick didn’t just leave behind an immense cultural footprint. She was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell, who became the unwitting guardian of her mother’s legacy and her mother’s demons. Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while their lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship.
Featuring unseen archive material and rare diary entries narrated by Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga, this documentary follows Celeste as she examines her mother's unopened artistic archive and traverses three continents to better understand Poly the icon and Poly the mother.
Official Selection Glasgow Film Festival 2021 - World premiere
Official Selection SXSW Film Festival 2021 - North American premiere
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Details

Year
2021
Type of project
Features
Running time
96 min
Format
Digital
Director
Celeste Bell, Paul Sng 1st Feature
Producer
Rebecca Mark Lawson, Daria Nitsche, Matthew Silverman
Executive Producer
Natasha Dack, Nikki Parrott, Richard Coram, Bruno Waser
Editor
Xanna Ward Dixon
Screenwriter
Celeste Bell, Zoe Howe, Paul Sng
Director of Photography
Nick Ward
Sound
James Shirley, Jonathan Hardy
Principal cast
Poly Styrene, Ruth Negga, Celeste Bell, Don Letts, Kathleen Hanna, Neneh Cherry

Genre

Music Woman Director Dance

Categories

Documentary

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Polydoc Films Ltd

The Old Workshop
1 Ecclesall Road South
Sheffield
S11 9PA

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