Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance was an instant hit (the set even has its own Wikipedia page), and is now the subject of Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé, a documentary that is equal parts candid footage, interviews, and concert footage.
The film is notable not only for its look into the process of bringing the Coachella set, which paid tribute to America’s historically black colleges and universities, to life, but for being a film by Beyoncé, about Beyoncé. The degree to which the artist is meticulous about her image has been commented on before, and this seems like the logical next step. Homecoming is a sort of self-mythologizing; concert documentaries that boast access this intimate take on a different shape when they’re being made by the artist rather than a third party.
The trailer features candid footage and interviews in addition to concert footage, all set to audio of Maya Angelou. “I want to be representative of my race — the human race,” she says. “I have a chance to show how kind we can be, how intelligent and generous we can be. I have a chance to teach, to love and to laugh. I know that when I finish doing what I’m sent here to do I will be called home and I will go home without any fear, trepidations, wondering what’s going to happen. [...] Tell the truth, to yourself first, and to the children.”
Homecoming is set to debut on Netflix on April 17.
