The popularity of the Lilith Fair, a music festival organized by women in the 1990s, speaks volumes about its origins, explained Ellie Pankiw, director of the Hulu documentary. «"Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery"» , on the Deadline Contenders Television: Documentary panel. But more importantly, "it was also the first time someone actually addressed some of the myths and lies that were being perpetuated about women and artists from diverse backgrounds in the music industry.".
Even the most successful artists of that decade were told, 'If we play two female songs back-to-back on the radio, they'll change the channel,'" Pankiw said, describing how some of the leading women in the music industry of that era banded together to refute that narrative. "Even if you're Sheryl Crow, you can't book a woman as an opening act because of the tour promoters and the people who finance them, and people won't buy tickets. And Sarah [McLachlan] just realized, because she's a wonderful person, 'I think that's a lie. I just don't think it's true.' And so she set out to prove otherwise. And I think any time a power structure is proven wrong, it's important to document it.".
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Pankiv also felt a personal connection to the story of Lilith Fair. "One of the main reasons I wanted to make this documentary was because I've been thinking a lot about what I learned from that particular era of misogyny, homophobia, and racism in the 1990s and early 2000s. And this documentary was an important part of that process and an important step in its continuation.".
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She added: "Looking back, I think it was very similar to the current situation, where the progress women had made was perceived as a threat. It was contradictory because Lilith Fair was a huge success—every concert was sold out. It made a huge amount of money. A huge amount of money went to charity. So the people who were involved in it and knew how great it was loved it and saw it as something miraculous. But other people also saw it as a threat.".
Pankiw explained, «And so a lot of the stuff that was being made for young women and by young women was ridiculed. It was devalued. It was kind of glossed over, especially in the early 2000s, when pop culture was just starting out. And back then, a lot of the conversations and comedies were like, «You're too serious. This sucks.» And I think we're in a similar moment right now, a downturn in our industry, where people are starting to think again that investing in women's stories and stories that tell diverse stories is a stupid risk. And we think this documentary is just a reminder that it's not. It's an opportunity.».
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Pankiw said that in this regard, she believes now is the perfect time to revive Lilith Fair. "I think there's room for it," she said. "It might not be possible to align the schedules of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Blackpink, and Catsy, but it might be possible to align the schedules of Taylor Swift and a lot of other incredible female artists who are maybe one level below her.".
«"I think what was so great about the original Lilith festival was that there were great headliners, of course, but there were also a lot of amazing discoveries who got their first chance to perform at Lilith," she added. Pankiw noted that a young, virtually unknown Christina Aguilera performed her first Lilith Fair performance on a side stage "near the portable toilets, and everyone's walkie-talkies started ringing, and everyone started screaming, 'You have to hear this woman's voice! It's incredible!' And everyone who didn't know who she was ran to see. So Lilith discovered a lot of talent, or if it didn't discover it, it gave talent its first opportunity to perform in front of a live audience. So I think he can do that again at 100%.".
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Watch the video of the discussion above.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on April 25 as part of Deadline's Contenders TV event.
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