News

Best Feature Documentary at 2022 AIDC awards

Tickets now available for I’M WANITA at Melbourne International Film Festival. Screening in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo and Castlemaine. Don't miss it and support local cinema and filmmakers. We hope to see you there!

I’M WANITA Scoops Awards in Sydney and London

Tickets now available for I’M WANITA at Melbourne International Film Festival. Screening in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo and Castlemaine. Don't miss it and support local cinema and filmmakers. We hope to see you there!

Best Australian Doco Award: SFF

Tickets now available for I’M WANITA at Melbourne International Film Festival. Screening in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo and Castlemaine. Don't miss it and support local cinema and filmmakers. We hope to see you there!

MIFF to Premiere I’M WANITA

Tickets now available for I’M WANITA at Melbourne International Film Festival. Screening in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo and Castlemaine. Don't miss it and support local cinema and filmmakers. We hope to see you there!

Film Ink: Interview

Like the Maysles Brothers’ classic Salesman, I’m Wanita, is a sublime observational style deep dive into a sub-culture, a lifestyle and personality, and what emerges is a human portrait of talent and struggle…and obsession.

POV Magazine

I’m Wanita is refreshingly original because it’s a heartfelt portrait of an artist who, at best, can aspire to standing twenty feet from stardom. It’s not because she’s a bad singer. Rather, Wanita’s her own worst enemy.

The Moveable Fest: Review

Wanita favours a more traditional country music and I couldn’t be happier with that choice. If only we had an opportunity to hear more of her music. You needn’t think you are a fuckwit Wanita! Love that session band in the New Orleans studio! Love what I heard in your Nashville album. The Honky-Tonk Queen of Australia!

A Honky Tonk Tale of Life Lived on the Edge

A more raw, suspenseful journey he could not have scripted. There are times when the goal seems out of reach, so enthusiastically does Wanita embrace the rock’n’roll lifestyle. She also gives away precious funds to the homeless in San Francisco. Her spontaneous performances for the down and out comprise some of the most moving moments of the film.

Wanita’s music: Get some!

Australia’s queen of honky tonk, WANITA album I’M WANITA is out now as a lush, opaque, limited edition red vinyl, black vinyl, CD and digitally. Released now! Owning the red hair and lipstick beyond persona, the crown of Australia’s Queen of Honky Tonk belongs to Wanita.

Flaunt Magazine

A refusal to conform and to comply makes someone special, and Wanita is a woman who stands out from the rest. With her curly flame-red hair, fabulous technicolor fashions, voluptuous body and sultry voice, the Australian self-crowned “Queen of Honky Tonk” is a sight, and sound, to behold.

Music City Drive-In: Review

Wanita is focused, talented, accomplished, and driven and will not let anything stand in the way of her goal to become a huge, country music star.

Moviepie Reviews Wanita

If Loretta Lynn and Janis Joplin had a baby, it might just be the immensely talented and wildly complicated subject of I’m Wanita. Filled with wall-to-wall fabulous music, and blessed with an insanely watchable and engaging central figure, this Little Doc That Could is bound to win over audiences and spark a global wave of Wanita love.

That Shelf Reviews Wanita

I'M WANITA is one of those unforgettably great personality docs. When I saw the film at Hot Docs 2021, I have to admit I fell for this heavy drinking, hard talking enigma who tests the patience of her loved ones but can sing from the heart and also care from the depths of her soul. I’m Wanita brilliantly captures this complicated spirit and makes for unforgettable viewing.

First single released!

The first single from Wanita's album I'M WANITA is now released... and it's a ripper. Preorder limited edition red vinyl, or the digital album now through Cheersquad Records and Tapes.

Screen Daily Review

For audiences seeking to encounter a memorable character at the festival, Smith taps I’m Wanita as a Hot Docs highlight. I’m Wanita is a raucous portrait of Australian honky tonk singer Wanita Bahtiyar as she attempts to repair her hot mess of a life and stage a comeback.

Review: A gem of a film

I'm Wanita is a combination of country-star biography, international road picture, and an authentic country musical the kind not seen since Robert Altman's Nashville. I'm Wanita is filled with music, surprises, comedy, and affection; a satisfying, carefully cut gem of a film with a heart enough to cover Texas and the songs to match. And I don't even particularly care for country music.

What’s hot at HotDocs? Well… Wanita!

For audiences seeking to encounter a memorable character at the festival, Smith taps I’m Wanita as a Hot Docs highlight. I’m Wanita is a raucous portrait of Australian honky tonk singer Wanita Bahtiyar as she attempts to repair her hot mess of a life and stage a comeback.

I’m Wanita world premiere: IF Magazine

Matthew Walker’s I’m Wanita will make its world premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival next month.The film, which follows Australia’s self-crowned “Queen of Honky Tonk” Wanita Bahtiyar, will screen as part of the Artscapes strand – a program that features work exploring creativity in the performing and visual arts.

International premiere: Wanita hits HotDocs 2021!

I'M WANITA will have its international premiere at the 2021 HotDocs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and we're ecstatic! "This raucous pursuit of a dream inspires as it sings her fantastically imperfect praises." Myrocia Watamaniuk. Check it out of you're in the neighbourhood! HotDocs box office

Standby Australia…

When the Queen is ready to receive you: we will let you know. Our Australian premiere is coming soon. Be alert, not alarmed... We will tell you everything, but not yet. And we promise it will be worth the wait.