M.I.A.'s Long-Delayed Documentary Premiered to Raves at Sundance

A documentary about the controversial musician and activist Mathangi Arulpragasam, better known by her stage name M.I.A., has been in development since 2012. Now, at last, the film has premiered at Sundance, and early reviews seem to suggest the doc exceeds expectations.

M.I.A. lived between London and Jaffna in Northern Sri Lanka as a child, and met the film's director, Stephen Loveridge, while studying at Central St. Martins. The film, titled MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A., is comprised of home footage--M.I.A., who sometimes goes by Maya, was rarely without a home video recorder growing up. The movie looks past the divisive headlines at the singer's story, following her from childhood into her rise to superstardom and motherhood.

In a video interview with Deadline, M.I.A. thanked Loveridge for focussing heavily on her support of the Tamil people in the time of the Sri Lankan civil war:

"I think it's nice that he [Loveridge] managed to filter it down to the essence of what needed to be discussed," she said. "Because in my own head, there's a million other things that I would have wanted to discuss."

While a release date has not been set, an official poster for the film is available below: