''Underplayed'' is a 2020

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

documentary film, directed by Stacey Lee.Lily Moayeri
"Tribeca-Bound ‘Underplayed’ Puts Spotlight on Gender Inequality in Electronic Music"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', March 4, 2020. The film profiles various women in

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

, centring in large part on their struggles to be taken as seriously as male counterparts during the 2019 music festival season due to continued

gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology ...

in the music business.Alisha Mughal
"TIFF Review: 'Underplayed' Highlights EDM's Diversity Problem — and Shows Why It's So Important to Fix It"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', September 16, 2020. Artists profiled in the film include

Rezz Isabelle Rezazadeh (born 28 March 1995), who is known by her stage name Rezz (stylized in all caps), is a Ukrainian–Canadian DJ and record producer from Niagara Falls, Ontario. Rezz released her debut extended play (EP) ''Insurrection'' in ...

Nervo Nervo may refer to: People *Nervo (DJs), Australian DJs Olivia Nervo and Miriam Nervo *Amado Nervo, a Mexican poet *Carlo Nervo (born 1971), Italian professional footballer *Hugo Nervo (born 1991), Argentine football defender *Jacques de Nervo (1 ...

, Nightwave, Sherelle, Tygapaw,

Tokimonsta Jennifer Lee, known professionally as Tokimonsta (stylized as TOKiMONSTA), is an American record producer and DJ based in Los Angeles. She has collaborated with artists such as Anderson .Paak, Earthgang, Isaiah Rashad, Selah Sue, and ZHU. Addit ...

and

Alison Wonderland Alexandra Margo Sholler (born 27 September 1986), known professionally as Alison Wonderland, is an Australian electronic dance music producer, DJ, and singer. Her debut album '' Run'', released on 20 March 2015, peaked at No. 6 on the ARI ...

. It also contextualizes the broader history of women in electronic music, including information about pioneers such as

Delia Derbyshire Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music. She carried out notable work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme ...

Suzanne Ciani Suzanne Ciani (; born June 4, 1946) is an American musician, sound designer, composer, and record label executive who found early success in the 1970s, with her electronic music and sound effects for films and television commercials. Her career h ...

and

Daphne Oram Daphne Blake Oram (31 December 1925 – 5 January 2003) was a British composer and electronic musician. She was one of the first British composers to produce electronic sound, and was an early practitioner of ''musique concrète'' in the UK. As ...

Release

The film premiered on April 15, 2020, at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, and had its Canadian premiere at the

2020 Toronto International Film Festival The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the 45th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 10 to 21, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, the festival took place primarily on an online stream ...

on September 19. Its Toronto screening, at

Ontario Place Ontario Place was an entertainment venue, event venue, and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place, and southwest of Downtown Toron ...

's OLG Play stage, was followed by a DJ set by Rezz. The film was added to Crave's streaming service in March 2021.

Reception

Alisha Mughal of ''

'' wrote, "Filmed through a deeply intersectional feminist lens, ''Underplayed'' highlights not just the genre's shortcomings when it comes to representation, but also how the industry can do better. A remarkable feat of equitable representation, ''Underplayed'', in its 88-minute runtime, manages to show us the beautiful, diverse and talented multitude of people making electronic music — their history, and their hopeful future."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 11906012 2020 films 2020 documentary films Canadian musical documentary films Documentary films about women in music Documentary films about electronic music and musicians 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films English-language documentary films English-language Canadian films