Taylor Swift's 'Miss Americana' receives standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival

Miss Americana, a Netflix documentary directed by Lana Wilson, was one the most feverishly awaited films in this year's Sundance program, and the premiere at the Eccles Center in Park City on the festival's opening day was a predictably frenzied scene. The film, which released on January 31 on Netflix, received a standing ovation for the 30-year-old singer's performance whose struggles through fame and body shaming have been detailed in the documentary.

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The film plays like a coming-of-age drama for a performer who despite finding mega-fame as a teenager took some time to truly find her voice. In the film, she says she always strove to be 'a good girl' and needed approving 'pats on the head' for any sense of gratification. Miss Americana captures an evolution in Taylor Swift as she moved past her fears and emerged as one of the leading singers in the industry. 

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Swift talked in the film about coming to terms with body image issues that grew out of scanning the countless images that are shot at her, and the comments posted on social media. Swift said she would sometimes go into “a hate spiral” and starve herself after seeing photos that she felt she looked overweight in.

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Miss Americana includes plenty of intimate scenes of Swift at home or at work. She drinks white wine with ice cubes and didn't try a burrito until a few years ago, we learn. But a continuous thread through the documentary is of Swift, who last month turned 30, crafting music. In scenes by the piano or in the studio, Wilson captures Swift writing lyrics and honing melodies with a relentless passion.

“For so much of my life in the public eye when I get sad or upset or humiliated or angry or go through a really horrible time, I feel like people lean in with, like, this hunger. And you never did that to me,” said Swift to Wilson. "That was what made me feel OK about feeling sadness, humiliation and anger around you."

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(With agency inputs)