\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe popularity of the female-led \u201990s-era musical festival Lilith Fair was enough to tell the story behind its origins, Ally Pankiw, director of the Hulu documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery<\/em>, explained at Deadline\u2019s Contenders Television: Documentary panel, but even more importantly, \u201cit was also the first time that someone had really stood up to some of the myths and lies that were being told to women and diverse artists in the music industry.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFemale artists, even some of the most successful ones of that decade were told \u201cif we play two women back-to-back on the radio, they\u2019ll change the channel,\u201d Pankiw revealed, describing how some of the leading women in the era\u2019s music industry banded together set out to disprove the narrative they were being told. \u201cEven if you\u2019re Sheryl Crow, you can\u2019t decide to have a female opener because of the tour promoters and people funding the tours and people wouldn\u2019t buy tickets. And Sarah [McLachlan] just realized, because she\u2019s a remarkable person, \u2018I think that\u2019s a lie. I just think that\u2019s untrue.\u2019 And so she set out to prove it wrong. And I think anytime a power-system structure is proven wrong, it\u2019s an important thing to document.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPankiw felt a personal investment in the story of Lilith Fair as well. \u201cA big reason I wanted to make this doc was because I was doing a lot of unlearning in my own life about what that specific era of misogyny and homophobia and racism of the \u201990s and early 2000s kind of taught me about myself. And this doc was a large part of that and an important part of continuing that unlearning.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe added: \u201cLooking back at that time, it was, I think, actually very similar to a moment that we\u2019re in right now, where progress that was being made by women was very threatening. It was contradictory because it was hugely successful, Lilith Fair \u2013 it sold out all of its tour stops. It made an enormous amount of money. It made an enormous amount of money for charity. So the people that went and were involved and knew how cool it was, loved it and saw it for what it was, which was like basically a miracle. But then other people saw it as a threat, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRELATED: Sarah McLachlan Opts Out Of Performing At ABC News\u2019 \u2018Lilith Fair\u2019 Doc Premiere \u201cIn Support Of Free Speech\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tPankiw explained: \u201cAnd so it was in the way that a lot of things made for and by young women, it was mocked. It was trivialized. It was sort of swept under the rug, especially as we headed into the early 2000s of pop culture. And a lot of the comedy and prevalent conversation at that time was like, \u2018You\u2019re too earnest. It\u2019s lame.\u2019 And I just think we are kind of in a moment like that right now, too, in a contraction period in our industry where people are thinking again, it\u2019s like a silly risk to invest in women\u2019s stories and diverse stories. And we think this doc is just a reminder that that\u2019s not true. It\u2019s an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPankiw said in that respect, she thinks the moment might be primed for a Lilith Fair revival. \u201cI think there\u2019s space for it,\u201d she said. \u201cYou might not be able to align the schedules of a Taylor Swift, a Beyonc\u00e9 and a Blackpink and a Katseye, but you might be able to align the schedules of Taylor Swift and then a bunch of other incredible female artists who are maybe one level below.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think what was so beautiful about the original Lilith was there were these massive headliners, sure, but there were so many amazing discoveries that got their first chance to perform at Lilith,\u201d she added. Pankiw noted that a young, largely unknown Christina Aguilera made an early live performance at Lilith Fair on a side stage \u201cby the porta potties and everyone\u2019s walkies crackle to life and were like, \u201c\u2019You have to come hear this woman\u2019s voice! It\u2019s crazy!\u2019 And everyone just didn\u2019t know who she was and ran to watch her. So Lilith broke a lot of talent too, or if not broke talent, gave talent their first opportunity to perform in front of a live audience. So I think it could 100% do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCheck back Monday for the panel video.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n