Girl's Band (A)
Original Title
Una banda de chicas- Director: Marilina Giménez
- Writer: Marilina Giménez; Lucia Cavallotti
CGiii Comment
So...the question is: Why are there no all-girl bands headlining major music festivals?
Listen to some of the music featured in this here film...and, the answer is clear as crystal!
The majority of bands contained herein politicise their music...to such a point, it's deafening. Who wants to go to a [major] music festival and be screamed and preached? Obviously, there are some that do...but, the vast majority just wanna f*&kin' dance...especially when ticket prices have gone through the roof!
It's all very well moaning about the male-dominated music industry from their [feminist] perspective...let's face it, a lesbian/feminist band is never gonna make it big. It's a niche market and will always remain so...that is until the day when feminist/lesbian bands realise that their appeal is only for lesbian feminists...if they drop the labels, the ranting and preaching...then, maybe, they might get somewhere...but, that is unlikely...since it is their raison d'être. A perfect Catch 22 - they want money and success, fame and fortune...the only problem is, very few want the product they are selling...and, they are not willing to change it in any shape or form. There goes that record contract!
Look it's simple...if you can't make it now, then you're not gonna make it. Justin Bieber's mother put him on YouTube and he became a sensation...in this industry, popularity is everything, politics is barely recognised.
These bands need to ask themselves an important question: What is it you want? Popularity or political integrity? Because...it's really, really difficult to have them both!
Trailer...
Una banda de chicas · A Girl's Band | TRAILER from Kino Rebelde on Vimeo.
The(ir) Blurb...
From ‘80s punk to modern day synth pop, rocking Argentinian queer women artists are chronicled in A Girl’s Band, by bassist turned filmmaker Marilina Giménez. Her band, YiLet, broke up long ago, but Giménez remains the ultimate insider, with access to dozens of powerful musicians who are not only ready to rock out in this glowing music documentary but also speak their truths about partying on the road, sexual harassment, and the agreed-upon truth that even one man in a “girl band” ruins the whole vibe.
Old time bands like The She-Devils play to rollicking mosh pits, with stones and bottles thrown at them, while newcomers Chocolate Remix and Miss Bolivia reinvent reggaeton and pop. And while these dozens of women are pushing musical boundaries, they also double as badass activists fighting for safe and legal abortions and determined to make an indelible mark on the music scene in this extraordinary discovery piece of stomping girl-led music in Argentina.
— J. SWEMBA