TINA ARENA: UNRAVEL ME

Marking 50 years in the spotlight, TINA ARENA: UNRAVEL ME is an intimate and cinematic portrait of one of Australia’s most enduring and enigmatic artists. Told through two interwoven lenses – Tina the icon and Tina the woman – this landmark documentary peels back five decades of fame to reveal the dualities that have defined her life and the new revelations that have remained untold until now.

Born in suburban Melbourne to Sicilian parents, Filippina Arena became Australia’s darling in 1976, aged eight, on Channel Ten’s prime-time variety show Young Talent Time. Her breakout 1990 pop single ‘I Need Your Body’ raunchily repudiated “Tiny Tina”, and she went on to score a soaring run of 90s hits … but self-doubt, misogyny and tall-poppy syndrome drove her to reinvent herself repeatedly in the UK and France: taking to the stage; seeking adventurous collaborations; and singing in Italian, French and Spanish.

Behind Tina the power balladeer and queer icon is the woman her family still calls Pina. This world-premiering documentary from Adrian Russell Wills (Kindred) unravels her vulnerable yet tenacious private self in candid, dryly funny conversation. Also appearing in new and archival interviews are Tina’s two sisters; her mentor Johnny Young; and collaborators and admirers including Céline Dion, Marc Anthony, Ronan Keating, Jessica Mauboy, and Jessica and Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas. In bringing herself undone, Tina movingly shows how music has made and mended her.

Screening at Luna Leederville and Windsor Cinema from August 27.