matangi / Maya / M.I.A
Directed by
Drawn from a cache of personal video recordings from the past 22 years, director Steve Loveridge’s Sundance award winning MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. is a startlingly personal profile of the critically acclaimed artist, chronicling her remarkable journey from refugee immigrant to pop star.
She began as Matangi. Daughter of the founder of Sri Lanka’s armed Tamil resistance, she hid from the government in the face of a vicious and bloody civil war. When her family fled to the UK, she became Maya, a precocious and creative immigrant teenager in London. Finally, the world met her as M.I.A. when she emerged on the global stage, having created a mashup, cutand-paste identity that pulled from every corner of her journey along the way; a sonic sketchbook that blended Tamil politics, art school punk, hip-hop beats and the unwavering, ultra-confident voice of a burgeoning multicultural youth.
Never one to compromise on her vision, Maya kept her camera rolling throughout. MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. provides unparalleled, intimate access to the artist in her battles with the music industry and mainstream media as her success and fame explodes, becoming one of the most recognizable, outspoken and provocative voices in music today.
Reviews
"2018’S MOST ILLUMINATING POP DOC."
ONE OF THE 10 BEST DOCUMENTARIES OF 2018
ONE OF THE 20 BEST FILMS OF 2018
“FASCINATING AND INSIGHTFUL…AN EXTRAORDINARY VISUAL DOCUMENT THAT DIVES DEEP INTO THE LIFE OF M.I.A.”
"THIS IS NOT A NORMAL POP DOCUMENTARY, BECAUSE M.I.A. IS NOT A NORMAL POP STAR."
“INSPIRES DEEP RESPECT FOR THE FIERCE AND INDEPENDENT ARTIST THAT IS M.I.A., A PERSON WHOSE VOICE IS NECESSARY, NOW MORE THAN EVER.”
