Celeste Bell’s ode to her trailblazing mother has secured worldwide distribution. Utopia scored rights to “Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché” ahead of its world premiere at this week’s Glasgow Film Festival. A press release confirmed the news.
Set to make its North American premiere at SXSW in March, “Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché” tells the story of Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, better known as her stage name, Poly Styrene. Styrene fronted X-Ray Spex in the ’70s, making history as the first woman of color to front a successful rock band in the U.K.
An inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements, Styrene’s music tackled timely topics such as identity and consumerism.
“Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché” is co-directed and co-written by Bell, and the doc sees the filmmaker exploring her mother’s cultural legacy and grappling with the duo’s own complicated history. “Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while their lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship,” the doc’s website details.
“Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché” is slated for release in the U.K. March 5. Narrated by Oscar-nominated “Loving” star Ruth Negga, the doc is named after “I Am Cliche,” a 1978 song by X-Ray Spex.
