Filmed by numerous Avengers and edited by two of them—Janet Baus and Su Friedrich—The Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire Too offers a rare insiders’ look at the New York group’s first year, from their initial groundbreaking demo in front of an elementary school in ‘92 to the incredible Dyke March in DC, where the Avengers ate fire in front of the White House, cheered on by an enormous crowd.
The video supplements footage of actions with compelling portraits of real-life Avengers still giddy with their first experiences of taking to the streets as out dykes as well as hilarious interviews with puzzled tourists trying to answer the question, “Who are the Lesbian Avengers?” This film goes a long way towards providing an explanation.
More than a historical document, the video also offers important insights about how to organize successful actions and motivate participants. Released shortly after the Avengers exploded nationally in 1993, it was an essential tool for sharing activist skills and recruiting members. Even today, it inspires as much as it does instruct. If they can do it, I can, too.
The Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire Too (1993)
Produced by The Lesbian Avengers
Directed, written and edited by Janet Baus and Su Friedrich
Shot by Janet Baus, Jean Carlomusto, Julie Clark, Su Friedrich, Harriet Hirshorn, Kristina Deutsch, Alison Froling, Lisa Guido, Phyllis Lutsky, Dolly Meiran, Morgan Grenwald
55 minutes, video, color
Selected Screenings:
Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic; The New Festival, New York; Women in the Director’s Chair, Chicago; Great Lakes Film and Video Festival, Milwaukee; Festival del Cinema Lesbico, Bologna, Italy; Feminale Festival, Germany; Zeitgeist Theater Experiments, New Orleans, LA; “Cine Sisters” Festival, Berlin; Seventh Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Austin; Frameline Film Festival, San Francisco; Quand les lesbiennes se font du cinema, Paris; First Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Budapest
