3 Selected By Charli xcx

Charli xcx curates a film series in anticipation of her upcoming movie, The Moment.

Known for her restless creativity and sharp eye for pop culture’s emotional undercurrents, Charli’s selections offer a revealing look at the cinematic influences that inform her own leap into filmmaking. Together, these films explore identity, performance, and the psychological and emotional cost of living in the public eye — themes that resonate strongly with The Moment, Charli’s highly anticipated feature debut.

Scarlet Diva (2000), directed by Asia Argento

Raw, confrontational, and deeply personal, Scarlet Diva is a semi-autobiographical portrait of artistic life directed by and starring Asia Argento. The film follows Anna Battista, a young actress navigating the corrosive pressures of fame, desire, and creative autonomy. Shot with an unpolished, almost diary-like immediacy, Scarlet Diva refuses glamour in favor of brutal honesty.

Charli’s selection highlights the film’s fearless vulnerability and its unflinching portrayal of an artist struggling to maintain control of her own narrative. Like The Moment, it interrogates the toll of visibility and the tension between self-expression and self-destruction.

Persona (1966), directed by Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman’s Persona remains one of cinema’s most enigmatic and influential meditations on identity. When a celebrated actress suddenly stops speaking, she retreats with a nurse to a remote seaside house. As their relationship deepens, the boundaries between the two women begin to blur, raising unsettling questions about selfhood, performance, and emotional transference.

A radical exploration of silence and voice, Persona feels especially resonant in the context of Charli XCX’s work, which often plays with constructed personas and fractured authenticity. Bergman’s film dismantles the idea of a stable identity, making it a foundational text for understanding performance as both refuge and prison.

A Cross the Universe (2008), directed by Romain Gavras, So Me, and Justice

Part concert film, part road movie, A Cross the Universe documents Justice’s explosive 2008 North American tour with visceral energy. Featuring live performances alongside behind-the-scenes moments, the film captures the chaos, exhaustion, and surreal beauty of life on tour.

More than a traditional music documentary, the film immerses viewers in the disorienting rhythm of performance and travel, where euphoria and burnout exist side by side. Its restless momentum and blurred line between spectacle and reality echo the tone of The Moment, which similarly examines the machinery of fame from the inside out.

A Prelude to The Moment

Taken together, these three films form a compelling prelude to Charli xcx’s cinematic debut. Each selection reflects a fascination with identity under pressure — artists confronting the expectations placed upon them, the personas they inhabit, and the moments when those facades begin to crack. Charli xcx is THE MOMENT in this sharp satire about a rising pop star navigating the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut. Co-starring are Rosanna Arquette, Kylie Jenner, Rachel Sennott, and Alexander Skarsgård. The Moment opens at Roxy Cinema on March 6.