Documentaries on Women in Rock & Metal

If you ever want­ed to know much more about the female trail­blaz­ers in rock and met­al (and oth­er gen­res as some of these cross gen­res), then here are some sug­ges­tions as to doc­u­men­taries, movies and TV series to watch that have plen­ty of infor­ma­tion and are a great watch at the same time. Please note, the list is in not in any order of pref­er­ence.

1. “Women Who Rock” (2022)

This is a four-part docuseries explor­ing the his­to­ry of women in rock. Fea­tur­ing pio­neers like Joan Jett and Pat Benatar, all the way up to the mod­ern trail­blaz­ers. This docuseries is full of inter­est­ing pieces of infor­ma­tion and cov­ers mul­ti­ple bands and female musi­cians. It doesn’t cov­er every­one and there are some very notable exclu­sions. How­ev­er, there is only so much you can cov­er in a lim­it­ed series. All that aside, this is still a great series to watch that gives plen­ty of infor­ma­tion and insight.

2. “Hit So Hard” (2011)

A doc­u­men­tary about Pat­ty Schemel, the drum­mer of Hole, and her jour­ney through fame, addic­tion, and sur­vival in the grunge scene. The doc­u­men­tary does veer away from Pat­ty at times and focus­es in on Court­ney Love and her rela­tion­ship with Kurt Cobain, which will always draw con­tro­ver­sy. How­ev­er, tak­ing that aside, there are some very inter­est­ing sec­tions in this doc­u­men­tary, and it does deal with the hor­rors of addic­tion in a bru­tal way through home video and expo­si­tion.

3. “Edge­play: A Film About The Run­aways” (2004)

Direct­ed by for­mer Run­aways bassist Vic­to­ry Tis­chler-Blue, this film dives into the strug­gles and tri­umphs of the all-female rock band. As a huge Run­aways fan, I found this doc­u­men­tary fas­ci­nat­ing. It’s a ‘warts and all’ approach and is very hon­est in its por­tray­al of the band. Fea­tur­ing exten­sive inter­views with the band them­selves, this is a must watch for any Run­aways and female rock musi­cian fans.

4. “L7: Pre­tend We’re Dead” (2016)

A look at the career of L7, one of the most influ­en­tial female punk/grunge bands, fea­tur­ing nev­er-before-seen footage and inter­views. This doc­u­men­tary is a must view option for any L7, Grunge, Punk or music fan in gen­er­al. L7 are one of my all-time favourite bands and I was incred­i­bly excit­ed for this to come out, watch­ing it pret­ty much on release day, and I wasn’t dis­ap­point­ed. It is an unapolo­getic expose of one the great­est and most influ­en­tial all female bands of all time, in my opin­ion. A must watch.

5. “Suzi Q” (2019)

A deep dive into the life and career of Suzi Qua­tro, a trail­blaz­er for women in rock and a major influ­ence on female musi­cians. This doc­u­men­tary is excel­lent and real­ly throws the spot­light onto Suzi Quatro’s ear­ly career with the Plea­sure Seek­ers right through to her solo music and beyond. A fan­tas­tic view­ing expe­ri­ence, espe­cial­ly if you want to see where it all start­ed.

6. “Girls Rock!” (2007)

Focus­ing on the Girls Rock Camp pro­gram, this film show­cas­es young girls learn­ing to play instru­ments and form bands, empow­er­ing the next gen­er­a­tion of female rock­ers. This doc­u­men­tary is incred­i­ble. It doesn’t just talk about the music but the social stereo­typ­ing that still goes on today and that, in many cas­es, cre­ate bar­ri­ers for women in all forms of music, not just rock.

7. “The Gits” (2005)

This is a fas­ci­nat­ing doc­u­men­tary about the Seat­tle punk band The Gits and the trag­ic mur­der of their front­woman, Mia Zap­a­ta. The film details with the events sur­round­ing her mur­der and sets it against the back­drop of the band and their music.

8. “Bad Rep­u­ta­tion” (2018)

A biog­ra­phy of Joan Jett, explor­ing her jour­ney from The Run­aways to her suc­cess­ful solo career, prov­ing that women belong in rock. This is a bril­liant piece of film mak­ing. The doc­u­men­tary real­ly cap­tures Joan Jett’s essence and doesn’t pull its punch­es when explain­ing how the rock music scene treat­ed women in the 70’s and 80’s. A must watch for all Joan Jett and rock music fans.

9. “We Are the Best!” (2013, Fic­tion)

Although not a doc­u­men­tary, this is a feel-good Swedish com­ing-of-age film about three young girls form­ing a punk band in the 1980s. The film tru­ly cap­tures the DIY spir­it of women in punk and met­al. It’s fun­ny, sad and a real win­dow on the world dur­ing this peri­od. It is in Swedish. But there are sub­ti­tles for those non-Swedish speak­ers and the sound­track is excel­lent. If you aren’t in the mood for a doc­u­men­tary, then this is a fan­tas­tic alter­na­tive.