POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ
DOCUMENTARY / 96 MIN / ENGLISH
WATCH THE FILM - UK
DIRECTORS: Paul Sng and Celeste Bell
PRODUCERS: Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Daria Nitsche, Matthew Silverman
NARRATED BY: Ruth Negga
FEATURING: Vivienne Westwood, Thurston Moore, Kathleen Hanna
FUNDERS: Sky, Creative Scotland, BFI Doc Society
PRIVATE INVESTORS: Matthew Silverman, Elton Murphy
THANKS to all our crowdfunders across Indiegogo & Patreon!
LOGLINE
The death of punk icon and X-ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey across the world and through her mother’s archives to reconcile their fraught relationship.
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.
Poly Styrene was the first woman of colour in the UK
to front a successful rock band
Poly was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell
STORY
Poly 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.
Celeste 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.
Along the way, we hear from those who knew Poly or were inspired by her including…
Thurston Moore - Sonic Youth
Kathleen Hanna - Bikini Kill/Le Tigre
Vivienne Westwood - Fashion designer
Neneh Cherry - Singer/songwriter
Don Letts - Friend and DJ/filmmaker
Bruno Wizard - Friend and musician
Youth - Friend and musician/producer
and more…
REVIEWS & FESTIVALS
WINNER OF BIFA BEST DOCUMENTARY AND RAINDANCE DISCOVERY AWARD:
#BIFA2021 WINNERS ANNOUNCED · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards
NEW YORK TIMES - “How Poly Styrene Broke the Mold”
LA TIMES - “A Complicated Groundbreaking Punk Heroine Gets Her Due in New Documentary”
VARIETY - “How Poly Stryene’s Daughter Captured the Punk Trailblazer’s Complicated Life”
VOGUE - "A New Documentary Explores the Legacy of Poly Styrene, Punk Pioneer and Fashion Renegade"
ROGEREBERT.COM - “3 out of 4 Stars”
“RIVETING AND VALUABLE DOCUMENTARY”
- THE GUARDIAN
“A PERFECT TRIBUTE TO A COMPLEX, BRILLIANT, GROUNDBREAKING WOMAN”
–NME
PRESS
Click the tiles below to read the full stories.
“Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard…”
DIRECTORS’ STATEMENTS
CELESTE BELL
My mum wasn’t like other mums. To say my childhood was unusual would have been an understatement. From my early years living in George Harrison’s Hare Krishna mansion to being removed from my mother’s care due to her mental health woes and finding myself in a rough Brixton school; living with my grandmother in the same house my mother had spent her teenage years, life was anything but boring.
It was not until my mother passed that I was left an extensive archive of her artwork, poems, and images that her late manager had been keeping all these years, that I was finally able to piece together the many different personas my mother adopted during her life.
Was it because she had left X-Ray Spex after only one album, leaving the band in large part due to a nervous breakdown at the age of 21? Was it because she was a woman who refused to be sexualised? Was it because she was a young woman of colour in an industry dominated by older white men? Or was it simply because the themes my mother was exploring in Germ Free Adolescents, rampant consumerism, virtual reality, and genetic engineering, were themes which can only be appreciated in today’s world, a world in which much of what she was predicting came to pass?
Whatever the reasons, I decided I would make sure my mother’s artistic legacy was given the recognition she deserves. This film is a testimony to a woman whose story needs to be told.
PAUL SNG
Poly stood out from the other women of punk in the 1970s not only for her music but also for being half-Somali, half British. In those days, there were very few punks of colour. As a biracial person myself, I can appreciate the struggle she faced as a result of her ethnicity and how others perceived her. Being of mixed ethnicity can present complex challenges to how an individual defines and understands their own identity; it was this part of Poly’s life that initially drew me towards her story.
Poly was once asked by a journalist, “Do you think you’re a rebel in today’s society?” Her reply, “I mean, yeah, I suppose I am a bit,” is spoken with a playful sense of understatement. To many, she was the ultimate rebel, but one of the most interesting, intimate parts of her story concerns her role as Celeste’s mother, and it’s this angle through which we frame the film.
I enjoy documentaries that transport audiences to places that are otherwise off limits: this film does exactly that. By using the lens of the present in filming the locations of iconic moments in Poly’s life, Celeste explores their relationship using memory and the testimony of the people who knew Poly well.
TEAM
Our work would not be possible without the support of our funders, Sky Arts (Executive Producer Jack Oliver), BFI Doc Society and Creative Scotland (Executive Producer Mark Thomas). We are also endlessly thankful for the financial and creative support of our other EPs, financiers, and crowd-funders on Indiegogo and Patreon.
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Celeste Bell spent her earliest years living on a Hare Krishna commune in the Hertfordshire countryside with her mother, Poly Styrene. After completing her degree from Queen Mary University of London, Celeste settled in Madrid where she worked as a teacher and formed ska-punk band Debutant Disco. After finishing a Master’s degree in Barcelona, Celeste returned to London to work alongside Zoë Howe on Day Glo! The Poly Styrene Story, published by Omnibus Press in 2019. They then joined forces with Paul Sng to make Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, a film to accompany the book. Celeste currently manages her mother’s artistic estate, co-curating an exhibition alongside Mattie Loyce at the 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning Centre in Brixton. She plans to tour the exhibition internationally after the pandemic and is currently working on her project, with the working title of Mr. Gorbachev and the Krishna Kids.
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Paul Sng is a biracial British Chinese filmmaker whose work focuses on people who challenge the status quo. Sng’s films are driven by methodical research, creative storytelling and a collaborative approach that strives for inclusivity and diversity in people and subjects. His films have been broadcast on UK national television and screened internationally, and include Invisible Britain, Dispossession, and Social Housing, Social Cleansing. Underpinning all of Sng’s work is an eye for strong characters and compelling narratives, all the while working to establish and maintain trustful relationships with people in front of and behind the camera.
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Mark-Lawson runs award-winning Tyke Films, producing work with original voices, exploring the intersection between documentary and fiction. Tyke Films’ feature documentary Irene’s Ghost was listed as one of the “Best Films of 2019” in The Guardian; it premiered at BFI London Film Festival, was nominated for a British Independent Film Award, and is currently being broadcast on Sky’s new documentary channel. Our mission is to make a bold contribution to the UK filmmaking landscape through a slate of unusual personal stories drawn from left-field sources and less represented geographies and communities. Tyke Films is supported by the BFI’s Vision Award 2020.
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Silverman is a Brooklyn-based producer specializing in independent film, television, and branded content. His latest film Last Ferry screened at Frameline, Newfest, and BFI Flare, and played on platforms including Netflix and OUTtv. He currently works as a creative producer at Madwell, a Brooklyn-based creative agency, and has worked across production, development, acquisitions, and sales at HBO, Showtime, Gravitas Ventures, and the SXSW award-winning brand film studio Lonelyleap. He is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and NYU's Stern School of Business.
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Nitsche is an international filmmaker from Germany, and currently based in the UK. She started her career in 2006, working on programmes for Germany’s leading broadcaster ZDF, as well as global TV and cinema commercials. After moving to the UK and receiving a Master’s degree in Film and Media Production she has worked in various production and postproduction roles on scripted films and documentaries, as well as commercials and marketing videos for companies such as Netflix and Channel 4 News. Over the years she has gained a vast network of industry professionals, which has given her the opportunity to be involved in German, English, Spanish, Italian, American and Nigerian productions.
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After completing a Masters degree in Religious Studies from the University of Edinburgh, Xanna was accepted as a BBC and Adobe Scholar to study editing at the National Film and Television School. Since graduating. she has edited animation, fiction, and documentary films which have been screened across the world at festivals such as Cannes, BFI London, Palm Springs, and SXSW. She has editing broadcast credits on Channel 4, Netflix, and HBO. Nominations and awards include BAFTA, Grierson and the HBO Best Short at the American Black Film Festival. She is a highly collaborative and creative editor who aims to craft each film into an emotional and psychological journey.
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Ward is an independent filmmaker and commercial DOP from Devon. He received a degree in film production from the University for the Creative Arts and a Masters in Research from the London Consortium/Birkbeck. His current personal work explores indigenous and preindustrial culture. His previous credits include Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle (DOP) and Three Seasons in Quincy (camera).
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Author, artist, and broadcaster Zoë Howe is best known for writing and collating acclaimed biographies of artists including Poly Styrene (Dayglo! The Poly Styrene Story, a collaboration with Celeste Bell), The Slits, the Jesus & Mary Chain, Wilko Johnson, and Stevie Nicks, amongst others. Her debut novel, Shine On, Marquee Moon was shortlisted for the Virginia Women’s Prize in 2016. Zoë is a visual artist and has worked musically with Viv Albertine, Helen McCookeryBook, and Steve Beresford, to name a few. She has worked with BBC Radio 6 Music, Absolute Radio, Resonance FM, 5 Live, and more, and currently presents the monthly show Rock ’n’ Roll Witch on Soho Radio. Zoë is a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Her next book will be published by Llewellyn Worldwide in 2021.
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Brand is an award-winning sound designer and re-recording mixer based in London. He studied sound design at the NFTS where he graduated with a distinction in 2013. His graduation film Z1 was awarded Best Short Film at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). Since then, he has worked on many highly acclaimed TV documentaries, such as the 2x BAFTA and RTS award winner The Paedophile Hunter, and independent films, such as the BAFTA winning drama I am Not A Witch, the BIFA winning documentary Almost Heaven and BIFA nominated documentary Irene’s Ghost.
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Marina Elderton is an award winning composer for film, television, and independent artists, based in London. Her practice combines experimental textures with traditional instruments. She has composed scores for Film4, BBC, and BFI Films, as well as Royal Television Award-winning documentaries, shorts, and commercials. Graduating from the National Film and Television School, she received two scholarships from the Musicians' Union and Wingate Foundation. Her solo music project UV is supported by the PRS Women Make Music Foundation and she co-founded the woman sound artist collective Erinyes.
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Parrott and Dack are executive producers and the co-founders of Tigerlily Productions. A multi-award winning and multi-BAFTA nominated production company, Tigerlily works across scripted, factual, and feature films. Previous factual output includes several films for the prestigious BBC Storyville strand, documentaries for all the major UK broadcasters as well as international co-productions with A&E, IFC, Arte, and ZDF. Tigerlily's feature films have been released theatrically worldwide, received acclaim at A-list film festivals, and sold to platforms such as Netflix and Amazon. In 2018, Parrott and Dack were invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCARS).
