Matangi/Maya/MIA

This energetic if febrile documentary portrait of British-Sri Lankan rapper MIA (real name Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) is about reconciling the disparate elements of a fractured identity. Directed by her friend Stephen Loveridge, it features exceptional access to the musician in question, including a wealth of home-movie footage tracing her journey from refugee to aspiring film-maker to international star, in a film which darts back and forth and largely eschews other people's impressions. Often depicted as combative, she emerges as a considered, frustrated, rather vulnerable figure, with less swagger than you'd think. Although MIA's activism is born of a deeply personal place (her father is a Tamil resistance leader and she's lost family to Sri Lanka's long-running civil war), her attempts to raise awareness are met with condescension and indifference. Though fuelled by her incendiary and infectious music, watching MIA reconnect with relatives never feels indulgent: such discoveries and globe-trotting are the driving force behind her creative output. In a hostile political climate, it's refreshing, too, that Loveridge's feature debut bangs the drum proudly for immigration, while the voice it gives to its subject makes it rare and compelling.