Film and Media Screening Series: ‘The Punk Singer,’ with Sini Anderson

The Film and Media Screening Series will present The Punk Singer (2017) with director Sini Anderson; she will participate in a Q&A after the film.

The Punk Singer is a documentary film about feminist singer and activist Kathleen Hanna who fronted the bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, and who was a central figure in the riot grrrl movement. The film combines a combination of interviews and archival footage, tracing the life and career of Hanna from her troubled upbringing, through her riot grrrl zines, to her coining of the phrase “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for Kurt Cobain, to her solo career as Julie Ruin.

Sini Anderson is an award-winning film director, producer, video art maker, and feminist art activist who lives in New York City. Her first feature-length film, The Punk Singer premiered at SXSW in 2013 and was acquired by IFC Films. The Punk Singer received a theatrical release in 111 American cities and in 25 countries around the world.

Anderson is in the final phase of her second feature length film, So Sick (2014-2019). The documentary is an exhaustive look at women who are suffering so called “mystery illnesses” and struggling to stay afloat in their lives and careers. The film uncovers infuriating truths behind women’s health care and questions an American health system that does little to dispel myths about “hysterical women.” In 2018, Anderson was commissioned by LACMA Productions to direct a short documentary about American photographer Catherine Opie. The film premiered on Nov 3, 2018, at LACMA’s annual Art+Film Gala, honoring Opie and Guillermo del Toro. LACMA Productions has approved an extended director’s cut and the film is currently being submitted to national and international film festivals.

The Film and Media Screening Series is supported by the Diversity Council, the Student-Faculty Corporation, the School of Liberal Arts, and the departments of Film, Media and Performing Arts, English and Communication Studies, and Modern Languages and Cultures.

All screenings are free and open to the public.