Here's the Trailer for the M.I.A. Documentary

July 20, 2018 | by James Greene, Jr.

MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A., director Stephen Loveridge's long-gestating documentary on musician and activist M.I.A., hits theaters September 21 in the U.K. and September 28 in the U.S. If you're already dying to see this thing, please try to sate yourself with the just-released first official trailer.

The montage emphasizes M.I.A.'s journey from Sri Lankan emigrant to globally celebrated cultural figure. "What are the goal posts?" she asks aloud at one point. The answer to that query and more will be revealed, ostensibly, once MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. — which won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award at Sundance this year — is playing at our local art house theater, drive-in, or multiplex.

The subject of the film might be the person least excited for its wide release. Speaking to Billboard in January, M.I.A. said, "[Loveridge] took all of my cool out. He took all the shows where I look good and tossed it in the bin... it's not the film that I would have made."