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Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story

Directed by Ayden Mayeri
United States
2026
96 mins
Unclassified 15+
This whimsical documentary follows four women whose childhood album unexpectedly goes viral decades later, sparking an unplanned reunion. Winner, SXSW Documentary Competition.

It's the year 2000 in Santa Rosa, California. Pre-teen friends Jessica Hall, Ayden Mayeri, and sisters Janet and Mary Washburn form a band, X-Cetra, and record their own album inspired by the Spice Girls and the sounds of the time. Before long, the fad is over, the music is dismissed and their adolescent lives diverge. Two decades on, their music resurfaces online, unexpectedly gaining fans (including Alison Brie) and acclaim, drawing them back together. Blending home movies, diary entries and new interviews, Ayden Mayeri's directorial debut becomes a joyful and bittersweet reflection on friendship, memory and growing up, as they revisit the past, create new music and rediscover the bonds they never truly lost.

“Celebrates adolescent girlhood, in all its glitter-sprinkled complexity.”
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
“Actress and first-time filmmaker Ayden Mayeri dives deep into her own pre-teen years for a disarming and wise look at female coming-of-age”
Katie Erbland, IndieWire
“Celebrates adolescent girlhood, in all its glitter-sprinkled complexity.”
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

Tickets

Thu 4 June 2026, 6pm
Past Event
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 1
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 1
Assisted ListeningWheelchair
Sun 14 June 2026, 1:45pm
Past Event
Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 3
Event George St - Cinema 3
Assisted ListeningWheelchair
See more, save more with a Flexipass or Youth Pass

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking, or see our Access & Inclusion page for more information.

  • Program Strand
    International Documentaries
  • Year
    2026
  • Classification
    Unclassified 15+
  • Country
    USA
  • Language
    In English
  • Director
    Ayden Mayeri
  • Producer
    Rachael Fung, Barry Rothbart, Ayden Mayeri
  • Screenwriter
    Barry Rothbart, Ayden Mayeri
  • Cinematographer
    Barry Rothbart
  • Editor
    Phil Rosanova, Audrey Leach
  • Genre
    Documentary, Award Winner, Arts, Music, Women Directors, Biography, Women’s Stories
  • Premiere
    Australian Premiere
  • Company Credits
    Production Company: Extra A Productions
Aboriginal FlagTorres Strait Flag

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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