Documentary about a feminist collective formed in London in the 1980s. Animation, archive footage and new interviews with key figures are combined to tell the story of the loose radical queer group whose activism and cultural projects were a touchstone of the era's progressive underground.
Long before the Riot grrrl feminist punk movement emerged in the 1990s, there were the Rebel Dykes, a loose, London-based collective of lesbian artists, activists and performers formed amid the political turbulence of the 1980s. Having met at Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, and found the scene at best diffuse, and at worst downright dangerous, they proceeded to carve out a safe cultural space for themselves, starting the S&M club night Chain Reaction, as well as various bands and magazines. Directed with love by Harri Shanahan and Sian A. Williams, and featuring plenty of vintage footage shot by the artists themselves, this irrepressible if scrappy documentary is a fitting tribute. It covers a lot of ground - perhaps too much - lending it a shapeless air. But this is more than compensated for by the warmth and wit of the women themselves. "We were very politically aware," says Maj, once known as Jane, Queen of Pain. "Also, very naughty."
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Harri Shanahan |
| Director | Sian A Williams |
