LSFF: White Trash Girls, Gun Girls & Riot Grrrls

“Riot Grrrl is not a genre, and certainly not a historical genre, it is a set of tactics women can use to ignite each other.” (Julia Downes)

The early Nineties saw revolution girl style, with hard-hitting political, female-led punk bands such as Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear, Bratmobile, Seven Year Bitch and the Voodoo Queens cropping up across the US and UK. Using confrontational imagery, a generation of female filmmakers looked to the scene for inspiration, drawing from the trash aesthetics of early John Waters and Sixties and Seventies exploitation cinema, re-invented as a feminist statement. These filmmakers and musicians led the way into a second wave of feminism emerging from the underground.

This short film programme brings together some of this riot grrrl influenced work, and some of the filmmakers, including Tamra Davis, will join us for a Q&A following the films.

Programme

• The Devil Inside [White Trash Girl #2], Jennifer Reeder, US 1995, 8 mins
• In Search Of Margo-Go, Jill Reiter, US 1994, 35 mins
• Gun Girls, Victoria Harwood and Lucy Newman, UK 1997, 5 mins
• Lisa And Jean, Mary X, UK 6 mins, 1995
• The Judy Spots, Sadie Benning, US 1995, 13 mins
• No Alternative Girls, Tamra Davis, US 1995, 6 mins
• Damsel Jam, Sarah Miles, UK 1992, 13 mins

Attendees of the screening will receive a specially commissioned zine, edited by Clara Heathcock, drawing on the content and ethos of the films, putting them in the context of the contemporary UK DIY scene. Including contributions from Ingrid Francis (archivist at the Salford Zine Library), Cherry Styles (editor of The Chappess), and Tilly Makemson (organiser of A Carefully Planned Festival).