Presented by Bijou Film Board, University of Iowa Communication Studies, Journalism & Mass Communication, and Cinematic Arts departments

Director, and University of Iowa alum, Sarah Price in conversation with Kembrew McLeod, UI Professor of Communication Studies

"L7: Pretend We're Dead restores the legacy of one of L.A.'s best bands"—Los Angeles Weekly

"Honest and Raw!" —Yahoo

An all-access journey into the 1990's grunge movement that took the world by storm, and the band that helped define it as the genre of a generation. Culled from over 100 hours of vintage home movies taken by the band, never-before-seen performance footage, and candid interviews, L7: Pretend We're Dead is an engrossing time capsule told from the perspective of L7, these true insiders who brought their signature blend of grunge punk to the masses!

Formed by Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner-guitars/vocals, the band completed their lineup with the addition of Jennifer Finch on bass/vocals and Dee Plakas on drums. To highlight the fact that L7 was an all-female group, however, was to miss the point. "Our fans couldn't give a sh*t if we're women," Sparks says. "We did not set out to be an all-girl band. It just happened that way." Yet the "gender issue" would return time and again for the band; from shock jocks refusing to play "chick rock" to academics accusing the band of "incorrectly" embracing their feminism to hard rock press implying the band was merely riding a wave of "grrl power" trendiness. Despite these obstacles, L7: Pretend We're Dead shows the thread of influence the band had not only on rock and roll but on future generations of women everywhere and is, at the end, a testament to the pioneering spirit of a band that refuses to take anything lying down.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: Sarah Price is an American filmmaker, known for the feature documentaries American Movie (1999 Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, released by Sony Pictures Classics), Caesar's Park (2001 SXSW Int'l Film Fest, Sundance Channel), The Yes Men (2003 Toronto Int'l Film Festival, released by United Artist/MGM),and Summercamp! (2006 Toronto Int'l Film Fest, Sundance Channel). Price was also a cinematographer on The Yes Men Fix the World (2009 Sundance Film Fest/HBO), and a Co- Producer of Youssou N’dour: I Bring What I Love (2008 Toronto Int’l Fest). In 2009, she expanded into commercial directing and episodic television. Price is a member of the Director's Guild of America.