"I like relationships and I like flesh" declared punk icon and one-time sex worker Kathy Acker when asked about cybersex. Called an outlaw writer by the New York Times, Acker was a contradictory figure. With her close-cropped hair, tattoos and piercings, she made SM and biting political satire part of her oeuvre. Her sexually explicit writing, which challenged assumptions of gender roles and sexuality, was banned in many countries. Barbara Caspar creatively captures Acker's life, from her wild early years in New York City to her untimely death from breast cancer in 1997. The film is filled with interviews with friends, figures from the era's punk world and young girls who speak about Acker's influence on them. There is also animation, graphic text and reenactments of her bestseller Blood and Guts in High School. Acker lived on her own terms till the very end. Caspar captures her spirit, her controversies and her ongoing influence on the riot grrrl scene.

How did you decide on this subject matter?
I read Kathy Acker when I was 17 or 18 years old, it was an important discovery and left a strong impact. She was so explicit (politically & sexually) in articulating the world around her, and her feelings and desires. Beyond emotional, her work was very intellectual and referred to literary classics I had read in school. Essentially, she had re-written male literary history and gave it a female perspective. Others, who have read her work have commented that she doesn’t shrink from diving into the darker side of being human. Darker but not meaning the wrong side of being human. Since Kathy's work had not been covered by literary history, it was a challenge to buy her books in a regular book shop. I wanted to find out who the woman behind this books was and thus decided to do this film.

What was your main objective in making this film?

I wanted to make a film that mirrored both the writer and her work. I wanted to get people interested in reading her work again and discussing the issues she raised both in her life and in her work.

What were the toughest challenges you faced?

Financing and establishing a coherent narrative that accurately portraits both Kathy as a person, as well as her books.

What is the most rewarding result from the making of your film?

To find out that other women felt represented in the film and to learn that it was thought provoking to both men and women. It was rewarding to see how the film questioned the audience and made them think about perceived ways of understanding and relating to the world around them. Premiering the film in Rotterdam was a fine reward too.

If you had to use three words to describe your film, what would they be?
punk, poetic, radical