Blackpink's Lisa Goes Solo, On Screen and Off, in New Documentary

A documentary tracking Blackpink member Lisa through her first year apart from the group she joined at 13 opens in cinemas and IMAX screens worldwide on Monday, part of a wave of solo ventures by K-pop's biggest stars that is reshaping how the industry's idol-group model intersects with Hollywood and the broader entertainment business.

"Always Lalisa," directed by Sue Kim and produced by Sony Music Vision, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11 as part of the festival's gala program. The 97-minute film follows Lalisa Manobal, who performs as Lisa, through roughly a year in which she released her debut solo album, launched her own management company, performed at Coachella, sang at the Oscars and took her first credited acting role, on HBO's "The White Lotus." Tickets for the theatrical run are being sold through the film's official site, operated with distributor Trafalgar Releasing.

A Year Spent Finding a Solo Voice

Blackpink, the four-member group Lisa has performed with since her 2016 debut, has sold more than 20 million records and logged over 40 billion streams, according to the Associated Press. Lisa, now 29 and born in Thailand, became YG Entertainment's first non-Korean trainee when she was recruited at 13, years before Blackpink's debut. The documentary's title plays on "Lalisa," her given name and the title of her first solo single, released in 2021; its subject this time is the 2025 full-length solo album "Alter Ego," which drew a mixed critical reception the film does not shy away from, including a Pitchfork review that the AP noted described the record as "the generic embodiment of a pop star."

The film also captures her set at Coachella in April 2025, where she and bandmate Jennie performed as solo acts for the first time, and her turn in "The White Lotus" Season 3, in which she played Mook, a resort employee, opposite an ensemble that included Carrie Coon and Walton Goggins. Director Kim, whose previous credits include the Apple TV+ documentary "The Last of the Sea Women" and an executive producer role on the streamer's "K-Pop Idols" series, described the project to the Hollywood Reporter as capturing "a delayed coming of age" — Lisa's words to the trade publication were more direct: "I'm just so proud of myself."

Breaking From the Group Model

K-pop's dominant business structure trains performers for years inside agency-run groups before any solo work is permitted, a system credited with producing some of the best-selling acts in pop music but also criticized for limiting individual members' creative and financial independence. Lisa's push into acting, fashion ambassadorships and now a self-produced documentary places her alongside a small group of K-pop stars, including bandmate Jennie, testing how far a group member can build an independent career without leaving the group itself. The film includes Lisa's parents and traces her anxiety about whether a solo misstep could reflect on Blackpink as a whole.

The documentary does not avoid the messier moments of that year. It revisits the furor over Lisa's embroidered Louis Vuitton gown at the 2025 Met Gala, when a face stitched into the fabric was widely but incorrectly identified online as civil rights icon Rosa Parks — the embroidery was in fact drawn from the personal circle of artist Henry Taylor, a point Taylor's representatives and Louis Vuitton both moved to correct at the time.

What the Film's Backers Are Saying

The companies behind the release have framed it as both a music-industry and streaming event. The film is a joint production of Sony Music Vision, RCA Records and Tremolo Productions, in association with Salt Water Productions and Lloud Co., with Morgan Neville among its executive producers. Announcing the global rollout in a joint press release, Sony Music Vision president Tom Mackay said "Lisa's music resonates with fans across the globe and we hope this film creates that same powerful connection." Trafalgar Releasing chief executive Marc Allenby said the film gives fans "an unguarded look at Lisa's trajectory from Blackpink stardom" and that Blinks, as the group's fans are known, "have been waiting for this story," and Lyor Cohen, YouTube's global head of music, said of the service's streaming window that "there's no better place to share her story than on YouTube."

"Finding my voice, yes, and finding confidence," Lisa told the Hollywood Reporter when asked what the year chronicled in the film had given her.

Trade coverage has largely treated the film as a test case for how far a pop star's individual brand can travel beyond her group's fan base. Music Week noted that Sony Music Vision's choice to open theatrically before handing the film to YouTube Premium mirrors a strategy the label has used to build event-style releases around individual artists rather than full acts, a model it is betting will translate Lisa's concert-level fan turnout into ticket sales.

Where Lisa Goes From Here

"Always Lalisa" plays in IMAX and cinemas worldwide for a limited engagement beginning Monday before moving to an exclusive run on YouTube Premium later this year. For Lisa, the film arrives as a marker rather than a conclusion to her solo turn: she is attached to star in a Netflix romantic comedy inspired by "Notting Hill" and written by Katie Silberman, and she is set to co-star in "Tygo," a South Korean action thriller for Netflix directed by Lee Sang-yong. Blackpink itself has given no indication the documentary signals a step away from the group, whose members have continued to describe their solo projects as additions to, rather than replacements for, their work together.