Captured during her Manchester shows on a sold-out world tour, this concert film brings Billie Eilish closer than ever, turning the stage into a dark, emotional and visually hypnotic space where every whisper, scream, silence and movement feels intensely personal. Co-directed with James Cameron, the film transforms a live performance into a cinematic experience, surrounding the audience with the atmosphere, scale and intimacy of one of the most distinctive artists of her generation. More than a concert recording, it becomes a journey through the sound and emotion of Hit Me Hard and Soft, where fragile ballads, explosive moments, dreamlike lighting and the roar of thousands of fans collide in one powerful experience. Billie moves between vulnerability and confidence, loneliness and connection, softness and strength, creating a show that feels both massive and intimate. The film invites viewers not just to watch the performance, but to feel as though they are part of it.
Three years in the making, Francis Whately’s film is a social and musical history of (probably) the world’s greatest music festival, as told by its principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis, and many of the key artists who’ve appeared there between 1970 and 2019 – Billie Eilish, Thom Yorke, Florence Welch, Dua Lipa, The Levellers, Aswad, Orbital, Fatboy Slim, Linda Lewis, Noel Gallagher, Ed O’Brien, Chris Martin, Stormzy and more. Balancing the driving forces of social conscience and hedonism, Glastonbury has always been both a world apart and a barometer of the state of the nation. Looking at the hippie days, CND, the contribution of the travellers, dance music, Britpop, The Wall, the impact of television and the first black British solo headliner, this film takes viewers backstage and deep into the archive to reveal the forces that have driven this alternative nation between utopia and dystopia, the greatest night of your life and a muddy field in the middle of nowhere. This is not a chronological plod through the festival’s evolution so much as a thematic and story-driven exploration of the peaks and troughs, and the agonies and ecstasies, that have shaped Glastonbury’s 50 years and counting.
More than a concert recording, it becomes a journey through the sound and emotion of Hit Me Hard and Soft, where fragile ballads, explosive moments, dreamlike lighting and the roar of thousands of fans collide in one powerful experience. Billie moves between vulnerability and confidence, loneliness and connection, softness and strength, creating a show that feels both massive and intimate. The film invites viewers not just to watch the performance, but to feel as though they are part of it.