Celeste BELL was born in London as the daughter of punk singer Poly Styrene. After graduating from Queen Mary College, she moved to Spain, where she taught Business English, formed her own ska-punk band and obtained a Master&rsquo;s degree in Political Philosophy. In 2019 she co-authored <em>Day Glo: The Poly Styrene Story</em> with Zo&euml; Howe, which they later adapted into the documentary <strong>Poly Styrene: I Am a Clich&eacute;</strong> (2021) together with Paul Sng. The film is Bell&rsquo;s directorial debut and premiered at Glasgow Film Festival.

Celeste Bell

Paul Sng

The idiosyncratic Poly Styrene was a phenomenal punk icon, but was she also a good mother? Complex portrait, made by her daughter.

As a woman of colour with braces and futuristic clothing, Poly Styrene stood out in Britain’s late-1970’s punk scene. Her daughter made this admiring and critical portrait of the somewhat forgotten icon, who psychologically succumbed to the pressure and ended up joining Hare Krishna.

IFFR 2025
30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

Celeste Bell

Filmography

Celeste Bell at IFFR

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché