Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery | TIFF50

A beautifully curated and relevant documentary following the creation and effects of the Lilith Fair festival in the late 90s. How Sarah McLachlan and her team created a time-defining experience that encapsulates womanhood, queer coming-of-age, and community of all kinds. 

At the time, an all-female lineup was unheard of, and it was sustained for its three-year run with no lack of hardships and criticism. However, this reality is a bit unimaginable for those growing up today, where females dominate major festival lineups such as Coachella and Glastonbury year after year. Which would not have happened, or at least not as quickly, if it weren't for Lilith Fair.

With a woman's touch both on and off stage, the opportunities females were given from all working points of the festival were revolutionary, proving women could hold their own weight in a male-dominated industry. 

Now, as a queer woman, this film to me was nothing less than a loving hug on a flowery hill during golden hour. A reminder of the beauty that can be found in community and how it can be used to overcome personal and societal obstacles. 

Although a gal can dream of what a Lilith Fair may look like today: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Billie Eilish, SZA, and the list goes on. The reality of it is that it's simply not needed in that same sense it was during that time.

Women are currently dominating the popular music industry and are finally being respected in their independent genres both critically and commercially. Although the world is always trying to pin women against one another and sexism within the industry is an ongoing issue, there's undeniably more space in the room for women now, thanks to Lilith.

We can, however, find variations of Lilith in society today. Through listening to female radio stations or playlists. Attending smaller female-led festivals, some of which have the enormity of Sabrina Carpenter's all-female two-day Hyde Park festival in London this past year, sold out with more than 100,000 attendees over the two days.

Finally getting the recognition and credit it deserves. This documentary portrays what Lilith Fair truly was in the late 90s, redefining it from the crude jokes made about it that persist to this day. 

So please, please, please give this film a watch and bring its messages of community into society today.