Featuring original music by Marina Elderton, the new documentary 'Poly Styrene: I AM A CLICHE' explores the fascinating story of 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.
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.
ON RELEASE ACROSS UK/IRELAND MARCH 5 PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW modernfilms.com/polystyrene
Premiered on Sky Arts March 6th 2021, and cinemas nationwide.
Directed by Paul Sng and Celeste Bell Documentary | English | 89 min
SXSW Film Festival // Glasgow Film Festival 2021