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Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché
Year
2022
Language
ENGLISH
Duration
1h 33m
Rating
NR
CC
Performers
Ruth Negga, Jonathan Ross, Kathleen Hanna
Directed By
Celeste Bell
Publication Information
Utopia
Summary
Poly Styrene was the first woman of color 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 front-woman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements. 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. A Sky Original Documentary, theatrical releases in the UK by Modern Films, in the US by Utopia, and in Canada by Pacific Northwest Pictures. Official Selection, SXSW, HOTDOCS, GLASGOW, MIFF.