Not Bad for a Girl is a rockumentary on women musicians of the 90s from the indie rock music genre grunge and riot grrrl and celebrates madness, creativity, and gender play. It was written, directed, produced and shot by rock phenomenologist feminist Lisa Rose Apramian, edited, shot and co-produced by drummer Kyle C. Kyle and co-produced by Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain. A DVD, with a booklet, is available for purchase at the official website and a release date for the sequel book is in the works.
The documentary features in-depth interviews with every band member, including Donita Sparks and Jennifer Finch from L7, Courtney Love from Hole, Kat Bjelland from Babes in Toyland, and Becky Wreck from the Lunachicks along with clips from live performances from 1989-1994. It also features female rock communities including riot grrrl and the first annual Riot Grrl Convention, Rock 'n' Roll High School of Melbourne Australia, and the Feminist Majority Foundation sponsored "Rock for Choice" benefits with L7/ Joan Jett. According to press releases, the film explores themes such as the musicians' relationship to creativity and music, the negotiation of gender identity and gender performance (feminist term coined by Judith Butler) through rock, subversion of stereotypes and gendered expectations through stage play performances and stylization of the body, and the processes of healing and reclaiming through musical expressions.
The sequel Not Bad for a Girl book contains images, anecdotes, reviews, interviews from many more bands unable to fit into the original including Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Strangefruit, 7 Year Bitch, Tribe 8, Dickless, Girl in a Coma and rock musicians in France, Japan, Brazil, Italy and the Middle East.
It was warded Best Documentary at the New York Underground Film Festival 1996, Nominated: Best Director, 19th Atlanta Film and Video Festival 1995.
Screenings
The film was screened at film festivals, including the following:
First Annual Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, Directors Guild of America and Raleigh Studios, Los Angeles, CA, April, 1995
22nd Athens International Film and Video Festival, Athens, OH, May 1995
19th Atlanta Film and Video Festival, Nominated: Best Director, Atlanta GA, June 1995
Le Nouveau Festival, now called Festival du Nouveau Cinema, International Cinema Video, Montreal, Quebec, CA June 1995