25 years after its original release, BLOODSISTERS, Michelle Handelman’s ground-breaking documentary on the San Francisco leather dyke scene is as vital as ever.

During the early 1990s, San Francisco was the epicenter of body modification and gender nonconformity, with transgender pioneers like Patrick Califia and Tala Brandeis fighting for visibility, alongside the voice of a bold S/M community. Michelle Handelman’s provocative and pioneering documentary BLOODSISTERS captures these queer outlaws in their zeitgeist moment, shot on digital video with an unfiltered rawness that mirrors the activism of the era. 

From pushy bottoms to macho femmes, BLOODSISTERS is an A-Z documentary guide that shatters assumptions about gender and lesbian sexuality, with a kickass soundtrack by San Francisco punk bands Frightwig and Typhoon, and Industrial Music pioneers Chris & Cosey and Coil.

BLOODSISTERS premiered at the 1995 Frameline Film Festival, then went on to screen at over 50 festivals and venues in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne– all in all, over eleven countries, with broadcasts on England’s Bravo TV and Channel 4, in addition to German, Italian, and Australian television. Winner of Bravo Award, Manchester Film Festival.

In the late 1990s, BLOODSISTERS was at the heart of a censorship controversy when the NEA was up for ratification. This controversial film was attacked in congress by the American Family Association for its depictions of radical lesbian sexuality. Twenty-five years later, the film has become recognized as a treasured historical document of a movement that tore down barriers of sex, gender, and activism.

BLOODSISTERS was the first film to represent this queer community on the fringes. It features the players who started the current conversation on gender fluidity and radical sexuality, and reminds us that now, more than ever, we need to keep vigilant on queer and trans rights.