Good Morning Lovelies, 

Apart from the music we all know, M.I.A. has remained a figure that not many know about. Now, she has decided to take audiences behind the scenes to show where the sound comes from in Matangi/Maya/MIA. Telling of her early start in life as a refugee immigrant to popstar, there is a depth to M.I.A. or as she is known to others, Matangi or Maya, that this film breaks the mould with.

Featuring footage from the 80s to now, the documentary chronicles the path that Maya has been on to get where she is now. With a heartbreaking scene between herself and her father being a pivotal moment, the real heart comes from seeing where the inspiration for the songs we now love come from. Her homes in the UK and abroad build the story and the rapper.

As the debut feature from Steve Loveridge, who went to school with Maya, Matangi/Maya/MIA is a feature that few would be expecting to see. With normal documentaries, the style is to keep the person in front of the camera and follow them around to find out the little details that will make it stand out. Yet, with this one Maya has filmed the footage herself. Loveridge is more of an editor in fact.

The scenes aren’t ones that Maya has chosen to be in it. She hasn’t shied away from being honest and it is refreshing to see. Nobody would expect the moments she has with her father to be so raw or the emotions Maya has towards her activism to be shown in such a personal way.

Maya will forever be known for her music, yet this documentary will be a powerful force in getting her voice heard by more. Both in sound and in telling others what and how she wants the world to change.

I am giving it…