Swimming Upstream: Sini Anderson
Episode 47
Sini Anderson on Late Stage Lyme, Long Covid, Queer Community Magic and the making of So Sick (2014-2022)
Sini Anderson is an award winning film director, producer, video art maker, and feminist art activist who lives in New York City. Her first feature length film, The Punk Singer -a documentary about Kathleen Hanna, premiered at SXSW in 2013 and was acquired by IFC Films. The Punk Singer received a theatrical release in 121 American cities and in 25 countries around the world.
In 1994 Sini Anderson and friend Michelle Tea founded Sister Spit and Sister Spits’ Ramblin’ Road Show. From 1994-2001 Anderson and Tea held weekly shows at Blondies Bar and the CoCo Lounge in San Francisco. In 1997 Anderson and Tea produced their first, of four, Cross Country Tours. Packing two vans with 12 queer artists they zig zagged across the United States and Canada for six weeks performing 40 shows! It was such a hit, they did it again for another 3 years, gaining national recognition they were signed to Mercury Records and released 3 tour albums with them. In 2000 Sister Spit released their final album, I Spit On Your Country, on radical queer & feminist label, Mr. Lady Records & Videos.
Eventually Sister Spit would tour with over 50 queer artists and were credited with creating a queer literary scene that still thrives 20 years later as Radar Productions.
Anderson was the Chief Curator and the Co-Artistic Director for The National Queer Arts Festival and has served as the president of the board of directors for The Harvey Milk Institute and the co-chair of the board of directors for The Queer Cultural Center.
Sini is in the final phase of her second feature length film, So Sick (2014-2022) . The documentary is an exhaustive look at women/gender non-conforming people who are suffering so called “mystery illnesses” like Late-stage Lyme disease, Fibromyalgia, ME/Chronic Fatigue. 50 Million Americans been diagnosed with Autoimmune Illnesses, 85-90% of them are Women. So Sick uncovers infuriating truths behind women’s health care and the health care of PEOPLE OF COLOR and calls b******t on American Medicine, Medical Education, and Bio-Medical Research, whose non-compliance with federal laws demanding Equality within government funded research, has only stoked the myth of “hysterical women” who are making themselves sick.