The first trailer has dropped for I Am Woman, the upcoming biopic on Helen Reddy, the singer and songwriter whose 1971 song became a ’70s women’s movement anthem.
Unjoo Moon, the director behind the 2012 Tony Bennett documentary The Zen of Bennett, helms this story about the ambitious female singer’s personal and professional life. In the preview, Helen’s battles with a sexist music industry are mirrored in the front line fight for women’s liberation, a parallel that helps inspire her role in the revolution’s soundtrack.
I Am Woman begins its story in the mid-’60s as the Melbourne-born musician, played by Tilda Cobham-Hervey, struggles to balance her family life with a budding music career. Facing sexism at every turn, Helen determines to reject others’ notions of what she “can and can’t do.” Believing that her music career can best be served by moving to America, she leaves Australia for New York with just $230 in her pocket and her three-year-old daughter in tow.
Upon arriving, she finds a friend and confidant in well-known rock journalist Lillian Roxon (Danielle Macdonald). But she’s also met with music executives who only seem interested in investing in groups of men. Struggling to break-in, Helen challenges the sexist and patriarchal industry head-on, arguing that women might care about the substance of their music, not just the pretty (male) face singing it.
“Did it ever occur to you men to ask women what they want to listen to?” Helen charges as she stands under bright stage lights.
Despite male gatekeepers who label her music “angry” and “man-hating,” Helen, with the backing of her husband and manager Jeff Wald (Evan Peters), is able to secure a recording contract and a string of hits, including 1971’s “I Am Woman.” But as Helen’s star rises, the pressure of fame bears down on her and her family, forcing Helen to continue smashing through society and industry glass ceilings to cement herself in music history as an international superstar.
Produced by Moon and Rosemary Blight, I Am Woman was written by Emma Jensen and is distributed by Quiver Distribution. The movie will release in theaters and on demand on Sept. 11.
Watch the full trailer below.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
