Duncan Place Community Cinema
Saturday 8th March, 2 pm.
Tickets (£4.44)
Our last film (Since Yesterday) sold out the week before it screened, so be quick if you’re keen to see this fantastic film together.
Poly Styrene, I Am A Cliché
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.
Poly was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell. 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…
Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché replaces our originally planned film screening of There’s Still Tomorrow. Due to licensing issues, we are unable to screen There’s Still Tomorrow at this time.
Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche (2021)
BBFC rating: 12 (although this screening is strictly for ages 16+)
Running time: 89 mins.
Directed by: Celeste Bell and Paul Sng.
Genre: Documentary
Language: English
Subtitles: SDH English subtitles.
View the trailer for Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche on IMDB here.
Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche BBFC Content Advice
Language
There is infrequent strong language ('f**k'), including written uses of the term, as well as milder bad language such as 'whore', 'bloody', 'bollocks', 'arse', 'hell' and 'God'. There is use of the outdated term 'half-caste, and text in a book contains a disguised use of the term 'n****rs'.
Sex
Archive footage features New York street scenes which include shots of billboards outside sex cinemas displaying the suggestive titles of films and images of women with hands covering breasts. In an archive interview, Poly Styrene talks about the song 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!' and says it refers to emotional and social bondage, as well as "sexual bondage".
Drugs
There are images of joints being prepared and smoked, as well as verbal references to drug misuse, which the work as a whole does not endorse.
Additional issues
There are accounts of Poly Styrene's history of mental health problems, the mis-diagnosis of her condition and the medication programme she was under. Her neglect of her young daughter, including an instance of physical abuse, is attributed to her mental health issues. There are references to historical racial discrimination, including the difficulties faced by mixed race children. There are also verbal references to terminal cancer, death and bereavement.
More information on BBFC content advice for Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche here.
Refreshments
We will provide hot drinks, squash, and pop corn.
Small cash donations towards these are welcome but not required.
You are also welcome to bring your own refreshments, however no alcohol is permitted. Please also refrain from bringing any hot or strong smelling food items. Thank you.
Local Cinema Project
Duncan Place Community Cinema is part of the Local Cinema project. The Local Cinema shared community cinema programme is back for Spring 2025, taking place across a range of community spaces in Edinburgh. Duncan Place Community Cinema is programmed in collaboration with community members. Local Cinema is supported by the City of Edinburgh Council, Film Hub Scotland and the Edinburgh Film Guild. More details about other venues and community cinema are available here. Spring Programme available here.
Spring Programme
Film Selection and Support
We'd like to say a huge thank you to the Local Cinema Project for supporting our community cinema events, and also to the community members in our film programming group who have helped to select the films we'll be showing. We'd also like to say thank you to Paul at EIFF for gifting our film group tickets to see the film at EIFF 2024, which prompted us to feature it in our community cinema programme.
Limited tickets are available and cost £4 (plus 44p booking fee). They can be bought at Ticketlab
If you have any questions about our Duncan Place community cinema, please email events@duncanplace.org