PALOMA FAITH: AS I AM (2021)
Paloma Faith has sold well over a million albums with number ones all over the world, headlined Glastonbury and sung to tens of thousands every week, but now she has taken on her toughest challenge yet - having a baby.
With unlimited access to Paloma as a woman, a mother and an international pop star, this film follows her on an emotional journey as she balances the demands of a vital make-or-break tour with writing a new album, launching an acting career and being a first-time mum.
The film observes Paloma’s life both front and backstage in the midst of this pivotal year for her career. We see her struggling with choices every mum will be familiar with, whilst embarking on enormous career challenges in a cut-throat business. Paloma not only returns to work after having her baby, but also to huge expectations to break Australia and America.
A familiar presence on the London underground circuit for several years, Paloma Faith eventually broke into the mainstream thanks to her ultra-flamboyant theatrical style and retro-soul sound. Born in Hackney to a Spanish father and English mother, at the age of 18 she made her debut on the cabaret scene, singing in a covers band called Paloma and the Penetrators, before performing as a magician’s assistant and appearing in a burlesque troupe. After turning down an opportunity to join Amy Winehouse’s band, she began writing and performing her own songs, and soon earned a reputation as one of London’s most exciting and flamboyant live acts.
She hit the big time in 2009 after releasing her first album, which reached number two in the UK and went platinum within weeks of release. Since then, she has sold well over a million records, with three more albums released, each of which went double platinum and reached number one in the album charts. She is a household name in Britain, having been a judge on The Voice and having had roles in numerous television series and films. Now, after returning to work following the birth, she will star as the villain in a new Batman TV series, write and launch her fifth album, and, she hopes, crack America – all while being a working mum.
The film sees Paloma pitted against a music industry that does not always look to kindly on motherhood, and with Paloma’s unrelenting ambition, the question the film asks is 'Can a woman have it all?' In seeing Paloma’s attempts to achieve this very goal, the film raises fundamental questions about women today and the sacrifices they have to make. (00:59:15)