Discover
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.
Original Release
03/05/2021
US Release
03/16/2021
Links
WebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagram
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Celeste Bell | Self/Narrator / Self, also narrator |
Poly Styrene | Herself (Archive Footage) / Self |
X-Ray Spex | Themselves |
Hazel Emmons | Self |
Don Letts | Self |
Rhoda Dakar | Self |
Ifrah Ahmed | Self |
Kinsi Abdulleh | Self |
Pauline Black | Self |
Bruno Aleph Wizard | Self |
Directors
Writers
Celeste Bell, Paul Sng, Zoe Howe
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Celeste Bell | Self/Narrator / Self, also narrator |
Poly Styrene | Herself (Archive Footage) / Self |
X-Ray Spex | Themselves |
Hazel Emmons | Self |
Don Letts | Self |
Rhoda Dakar | Self |
Ifrah Ahmed | Self |
Kinsi Abdulleh | Self |
Pauline Black | Self |
Bruno Aleph Wizard | Self |
Helen McCookerybook | Self |
Vivienne Westwood | Self |
Youth | Self |
Lora Logic | Self (Archive Footage) / Self |
Paul Dean | Self |
Rina Vergano | Self |
Falcon Stuart | Self |
Jonathan Ross | Self |
John Cooper Clarke | Self / Self (Archive Footage) |
Thurston Moore | Self |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Celeste Bell | Executive Producer |
Richard Coram | Executive Producer |
Natasha Dack | Executive Producer |
Jack Oliver | Executive Producer |
Nikki Parrott | Executive Producer |
Lisa Marie Russo | Executive Producer |
Mark Thomas | Executive Producer |
Bruno Waser | Executive Producer |
Colm Forde | Producer |
Jill Hearst | Producer |
Vanessa Lobon | Producer |
Rebecca Mark-Lawson | Producer |
Morven Masterton | Producer |
Daria Nitsche | Producer |
Matthew Silverman | Producer |
Dani Carlaw | Producer |
Rachael Yates | Producer |