by Steve Loveridge
The child of a co-founder of the Tamil independence movement, Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A., fled Sri Lanka with her mother and siblings and spends her childhood in London before conquering the world as a pop star. Having arrived at the peak of her success, she has never been afraid of speaking her mind vis-a-vis her agents or the mainstream media. Maya has always been and always will stay true to herself: punkish, antagonistic, contagious – and ever remaining intangible. This documentary portrait is just as eclectic and playful as the artist herself: private archive material, immigration history, political statements, inspiring songs, and provocative stage shows merge into an inspiring whole in which the singer who is also a trained filmmaker skilfully puts her talents on display.