Rebel Of Pop - Madonna

TV premiere, Wednesday, 02.07.25 at 22.10h on arte and now available in the arte media library:

REBEL OF POP - MADONNA
An archive film by Oliver Schwabe
D 2025 | 51' | arte

Madonna has been able to charm and provoke at the same time for over 40 years.
With more than 300 million records sold, she is one of the most successful singers in the world.
The documentary traces Madonna's career using exclusive and rich archive material.

Madonna, born in 1958 in Bay City, Michigan (USA), is a feminist pop icon who sees being a pop star as an art form, repeatedly breaking taboos and rebelling against convention. But she is also an entrepreneur who not only lives out her artistic freedom, but also has commercial control over her work - independent, self-determined and non-conformist. Madonna is a pop rebel!
In his portrait, filmmaker Oliver Schwabe ("Tokio Hotel - Hinter die Welt", "Die Paten von St. Pauli") traces the career of this exceptional artist using exclusive and rich archive material and draws on exclusive interviews that journalist Christiane Rebmann has been able to conduct with Madonna over the past decades. Concert recordings and videos show Madonna's versatility, and interviews testify to the urgency and consistency with which she has pursued her career over the decades and turned her into a role model. She never goes easy on herself and is prepared to push boundaries - be it in her sex book, in her explicit videos and live shows or in her clear statements against racism or homophobia.
She sees provocation as a means of initiating social debate. Madonna deliberately crosses boundaries to trigger discourse on sexuality, religion or gender roles. In return, she loves her audience, for whom she fights on behalf of freedom and equality. Madonna speaks for herself in the film and thus allows a special view of an elusive art figure who always surprises, sometimes provokes, but always remains true to herself.

Writer & director: Oliver Schwabe
Editing: Christian Becker
Graphics: Andreas Fennel
Voice recording&mixing: Christian Eisenach
Audio - Interviews Madonna 1992-2008: Christiane Rebmann
Archive research: Oliver Schwabe, Markus Scheidel
Production management: Markus Scheidel
Producer: Christian Wagner
Production: INTACT Produktion+Verlag, ARTE G.E.I.E
Editor: Oliver Schwehm

Music documentation

Music movie

Pop culture