From Page To Screen: Poly Styrene (2021) (12)

Bridport’s definitive film festival celebrating the art of literary adaptation.

This year’s guest curator will be Screenwriter and Director, Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

Plus Q&A with Director Paul Sng

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 everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. As the front woman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afro-punk 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, scarring Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship.

Winner of two independent film awards including Best Documentary and featuring  unseen archive material, the film is narrated by Oscar nominee Ruth Negga, and 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.

Join us after the screening as we talk to the films director, Paul Sng.

To celebrate punk, Clocktower Records will have a special pop-up punk stall at the screening plus a display of records, souvenirs and photographs from this fascinating era.

DIRECTOR | Paul Sng and Celeste Bell
STARS | Ifrah Ahmed, Adrian Bell, Celeste Bell, Poly Styrene and X-Ray Spex
SOURCE TEXT | Based on the life, career and archives of Poly Styrene
SCREENWRITER | Celeste Bell and Zoë Howe

EVENT SPONSORED BY

For more information please visit  www.bridport-arts.com

Bridport Arts Centre

Saturday 27th April at 8pm

Tickets: Adult £12 | Cons & U25’s £10

Tickets available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre, Bridport Town Hall, South Street DT6 3LF. Tel: 01308 424901 or