Overview

• Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery premieres Sept. 21 on Hulu and Disney+, following its Sept. 13 debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
• Director Ally Pankiw draws on more than 600 hours of archival footage with new conversations that include Sarah McLachlan and artists such as the Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu and Paula Cole.
• The documentary spotlights how the all-women, women-led tour created a safer concert environment and helped lift careers for rising artists, including Missy Elliott, Christina Aguilera, Mya and Dido.
• Historical context in the film details the festival’s commercial reach—sold-out amphitheaters, $16 million grossed in 1997 and $52 million by 1999—alongside more than $10 million donated to women’s charities.
• Coverage of challenges includes early lineup diversity criticism, protests tied to Planned Parenthood booths and a 1998 bomb threat in Atlanta, as well as the unsuccessful 2010 reboot that McLachlan says did not take hold.