The film features interviews with Shirley Manson and Joan Jett, along with unearthed home movie footage. 

L7’s Donita Sparks was chucking used tampons at festival crowds when Charli XCX was still a newborn. The feminist rock heroes were trailblazers in every sense of the word, fusing punk, grunge and metal and paving the way for the riot grrrl movement of the early ‘90s.

A new documentary, Pretend We’re Dead, traces L7’s career from their formation in 1985 in LA through their pro-choice benefit concerts Rock For Choice and their initial 2001 breakup (the band reunited in 2014). The film is named after the LA band’s best known song from their 1992 album Bricks Are Heavy.

The first trailer for the Sarah Price-directed documentary has now been released, and it looks every bit as fierce and frank as you’d expect from a band whose co-founder dropped her trousers live on British TV. It features interviews with Krist Novoselic, Shirley Manson, Veruca Salt’s Louise Post, Joan Jett, Exene Cervenka as well as home movie and unseen performance footage. No official release date for the Kickstarter-funded film has been announced as yet.

The reunited band – co-founders Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner along with bassist Jennifer Finch and drummer Demetra Plakas – are currently on tour in Australia.