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Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché 12 rating

The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey through her mother’s archives in this intimate documentary.

Documentary 2021 96 mins

Director: Paul Sng and Celeste Bell

CC

Overview

X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism and postmodernism in late 1970s Britain. Her daughter Celeste became the unwitting guardian of both her mother’s legacy and her mother’s demons. Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while the lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship.

Featuring unseen archive material and rare diary entries 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.

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