Groundbreaking music festival Lilith Fair star of upcoming documentary
CBC and ABC News Studios have announced the new documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery will premiere in Canada on Sept. 17 on CBC and the CBC Gem on Sept. 21.
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From director Ally Pankiw (I Used to Be Funny, Black Mirror, The Great), the feature-length documentary tells the untold story of the groundbreaking music festival featuring only women artists, started in the late 1990s by Vancouver singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan, Terry McBride, Dan Fraser and Marty Diamond.
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The successful festival ran during the summers of 1997-1999, with a one-off revival in 2010. The festival showcased female musicians and was a countermeasure to music industry standards that limited women from playing together on a concert bill and getting back-to-back radio airplay.
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The artists appearing at Lilith Fair varied by date (with McLachlan and Suzanne Vega the only artists to play all dates). Artists on bills included Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Diana Krall, Emmylou Harris, Sinead O'Connor, The Chicks, The Pretenders, Brandi Carlile and many other bold type musicians.
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'I'm so filled with pride and nostalgia watching this film,' said Sarah McLachlan in a statement. 'Ally and the team have beautifully captured the magic and strength of a community of women who came together and lifted each other up to create positive change in the world. I hope the film resonates with everyone and we can continue to strive to support and champion one another.'
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Inspired by the 2019 article, Building a Mystery: An Oral History of Lilith Fair, from Vanity Fair and Epic Magazine and written by Jessica Hopper with Sasha Geffen and Jenn Pelly, the film draws from more than 600 hours of never-before-seen archival footage as well as new interviews and stories from fans, festival organizers, and artists. While the film, which launches the new season of CBC's documentary series The Passionate Eye, celebrates the festival's legacy, it also addresses the backlash it faced at the time and discusses what Lilith Fair means in today's world.
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'I am so proud to be a part of this beautiful doc — especially at what feels like a fitting time to highlight a story of resistance and radical joy in the face of systems that try to keep women and diverse voices small,' said director Pankiw in a statement. 'The collaborative effort of this film and what it took to make it mirrors the incredible underdog story of Sarah and her team and how they fought for Lilith to succeed against all odds.'
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