Charli XCX has said that The Moment, the mockumentary about her iconic Brat album and tour, could only have been filmed in the UK.
“I’m British, Aidan’s from Glasgow [Aidan Zamiri, the film’s director] – it felt very important for us to be there shooting it,” XCX told Screen. The artist stars as herself in the film and produced it. “I don’t think the tone, the visual language would’ve been the same if we’d shot it in LA, New York or anywhere else.
“It needed to feel real, like it was really the life I was living. It made so much sense; it would’ve felt fake if it had been anywhere else.”
The Moment began shooting in and around London in spring 2025, using locations including Dagenham, Hoxton, Southwark, Surrey Quays and the O2 Arena.
The A24 film is produced by 2AM’s David Hinojosa with XCX; it will be released in the US on January 30, with Universal handling international distribution in several territories, including UK-Ireland from February 20. The Moment follows a fictionalised version of XCX as she gears up to lead her first headline tour, amid the attentions of record label executives, a demanding director, and other celebrities.
“Fuck yeah!” was Zamiri’s response to the assertion that The Moment is a British film, despite its American producers. “I’m so glad we shot this film in London,” said the director, who has directed music videos for XCX as well as artists including Billie Eilish. “I’m from Glasgow originally, I live in London. My co-writer Bertie [Brandes] is from London, Charli is from Essex and lives in London.
“It was a very British group of people making a film; to us, that was the sense of humour, and tone of voice and point of view – it was the stuff we grew up with. It felt important that we did something like that.
“I was also excited to show London in a way it hadn’t been seen before. We spend a lot of our film in cars, green rooms and waiting rooms, as is the life of a pop star.”
Britishness pops
Hinojosa is a leading light of US independent film through titles including First Reformed, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Past Lives and Babygirl. “The UK was our hero location because Charli’s Britishness really pops there,” said the producer. “I’m so glad I get the opportunity to say: I love shooting in the UK. I’ve made over 30 films and this is my first one there; I’m literally trying to rewrite movies so we can do it there.
“It’s a culture that appreciates film and the craft underneath it is so revered. The overall culture and energy everybody brings to it, it was very familial. And it knows how to support the industry.”
The Moment generated a buzz on Friday night at the final Sundance to be held in Park City, Utah, with long queues for tickets and beanie hats in the bright green ‘Brat’ colour handed out to a select number of attendees.
The film’s ensemble cast includes Alexander Skarsgard, Rosanna Arquette, Jamie Demetriou, Rachel Sennott, Hailey Gates, Kate Berlant, Isaac Powell and Kyle Jenner.
Several attending cast also spoke positively about their UK filming experience. “It was really lucky to shoot in London, because Charli would have a party every Friday,” said Gates, whose debut feature as director Atropia won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2025. “We were living the moment every moment.”
“I’ve worked a lot in London over the past couple of years and I love it,” said US actor Powell. “I love the crews, the hours, they’re very respectful. You work your 10 hours then you go home. There are no 20 hour-days on set in the UK, it’s really great.”
Sennott shot her role in the film in just four hours, on a brief break in the schedule from her HBO comedy series I Love LA. “I was in Paris for a show; overnight, I got in an unmarked van, with a man I didn’t know,” said the actress. “I gave him my passport, I took a sleeping pill. I go in the [Channel] tunnel, you go under the sea.
“This man drives me; I wake up, he hands me a bag of Doritos – woah, it’s morning, I’m on set. Then I film for four hours, then I go to the airport and back to the show.
“I filmed for four hours, but it was a beautiful experience.”
Brat to stop
XCX appears in three features at Sundance 2026 – The Moment, Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, and Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist. She has also made three further features in the past year: Romain Gavras’ Sacrifice, Pete Ohs’ Erupcja, and Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights Of Hero.
In a Q&A following the world premiere screening, XCX said she is looking to leave the Brat stage of her career behind.
“I’m really wanting Brat to stop, and pivot as far away from it as possible,” said the artist. “That’s not because I don’t love it; it’s because, for all of us as artists, you want to challenge yourself and totally switch the creative soup that you’re in, and go and live in a different bowl for a while, and feel enriched by that.
“That’s how I feel about the projects I’m taking on in film. I want to work with these incredible directors who I feel like I can live completely different lives with.”
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