The Punk Singer

Kathleen Hanna became internationally known as the mouthpiece of the feminist "Riot Grrrl" movement in America in the early 90s. "We just decided to take feminist stuff and filter it through a punk rock lens" she proclaims as frontwoman of Bikini Kill. She wrote "slut" on her belly, called girls to the front during performances while ordered men to stay at the back, she created zines and wrote manifestos. In the end, she injected the male-dominated hardcore punk scene with a strong dose of girl power.

When Bikini Kill called it a day, she founded the dance-punk trio Le Tigre in the late 90s. However, in 2005, Hanna stopped shouting and many wondered why. In this documentary, filmmaker Sini Anderson looks for an answer and draws on 20 years of archival footage and intimate interviews with Hanna, former band members and spouse Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys. This is a fascinating portrait of an intrepid pioneer and shining example for future emancipating woman formations, such as Gossip, Pussy Riot and our own Kenji Minogue.

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