Taylor Swift's Miss Americana Is A Coming-Of-Age Story, Says Director Lana Wilson

The film, which premiered last month at Sundance and is now on Netflix, charts the pop star's transformation from a people-pleaser who measured her worth in pats on the head to a 30-year-old woman who's stopped worrying and learned to speak her mind."When I started, there wasn't a set, 'This is the story,' or anything like that," Wilson told MTV News about the doc. More vitally, we get a glimpse into her mindset as she resurfaced from a period of self-imposed exile to grapple with a sexual assault case, an eating disorder, an impassioned political awakening, and, oh yeah, the making of last year's swooning No. 1 album, Lover.Below, Wilson tells MTV News about how Miss Americana is a coming-of-age story, the delicate balance of portraying Swift's romantic relationship, the studio footage she left on the cutting room floor, and the now-infamous "cat backpack."MTV News: This film made me really excited to see what kind of artist Taylor Swift is going to be in her 30s, now that she's seemingly more comfortable speaking her mind and isn't as worried about being a quote-unquote "good girl." Do you see it as capturing a turning point in her life?Wilson: Absolutely. She's less focused on being the person other people want her to be and more focused on being the person who she wants to be and who she is.MTV News: You definitely saw that throughout the film. Or "Clean," after the sexual assault trial, for example.MTV News: When you're making this kind of film and you're capturing Taylor during such a long stretch of time, how do you know when it's done? People have asked me about it, so it's giving me hope that maybe we could just release the 40-minute version of Taylor writing "Only the Young" as a standalone film or something.MTV News: Honestly, I would watch. A lot of people would watch!Wilson: I think a lot of people would.MTV News: Last question: How long did it take for Meredith and Olivia to warm up to you?Wilson: I don't know if they ever did, honestly!