Charli xcx spoofs herself in 'The Moment'

"From Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" to Beyonce's "Renaissance" movie, concert films have become a top-grossing genre in recent years. British pop star Charli xcx was also approached to make a film around her concert tour after she became a cultural phenomenon with her 2024 album "Brat." "It kind of felt like a way to elongate the life span of the album for my record label," she told Variety magazine."

""I was just not really into that. I was only interested in flipping the form of something quite traditional." That sparked the idea for a movie titled "The Moment," a mockumentary that blows up the concert film genre, ironically portraying the commercial motivations often driving such productions. Following its European premiere at the Berlinalefilm festival, "The Moment" is now available to watch in theaters throughout the continent."

"The project gets muddled up between the opposing artistic visions of creative director Celeste (Hailey Benton Gates), a close friend of the star and club scene insider, and filmmaker Johannes (Alexander Skarsgard), who has a track record of directing extremely successful concert films but is a douchebag. Even though the alpha male filmmaker does manage to get the upper hand, eliminating Celeste's extreme strobe lights and cocaine references, on a meta level, the mockumentary is packed with Charli xcx's trademark hyperpop, messy, party-girl aesthetics."

The Moment is a mockumentary directed by Aidan Zamiri that imagines an alternative timeline in which Charli xcx agrees to a concert film meant to extend the commercial life of her 2024 album Brat. The film portrays clashes between creative director Celeste and filmmaker Johannes, exposing artistic conflicts and industry pressures, while keeping Charli xcx's hyperpop, messy party-girl aesthetics. Cameos include Rachel Sennott, Julia Fox, Kylie Jenner and Rosanna Arquette as exaggerated versions of themselves. The project premiered in Europe at the Berlinale film festival and is now available in theaters across the continent. The film satirizes commercial motivations behind concert movies.

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