Sini Anderson (born November 6, 1969) is an American film director, producer, performance artist, choreographer, dancer and poet, from Chicago, Illinois.
[1] Anderson is widely known for directing The Punk Singer (2013), a documentary about riot grrrl musician Kathleen Hanna's legacy and experience with late-stage Lyme disease.
At age 22, Anderson performed the first spoken word piece she had ever written at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Uptown, Chicago, and won the slam for that evening.
Anderson continued to perform with The Words to Swallow Poets at local clubs and venues opening up for musical acts before moving to San Francisco.
[11] In May 2014, BuzzFeed reported that some of the Kickstarter backers of The Punk Singer did not get the items they paid for, including signed posters, sneak previews and tickets to a private screening.
[8] Not wanting to complicate the story of The Punk Singer or detract the focus from Hannah's illness, Anderson was reluctant to admit publicly during the filming that she had been diagnosed as well.
[8] As the making of the film went into post-production, Anderson grew more ill, ending up on an IV PICC line as a means of receiving intravenous antibiotic treatments.
[8] The treatments have strengthened Anderson's health and immune system, but today she still keeps a close watch for telltale signs of sickness, taking herbs and eating a healthy diet.
[8] After The Punk Singer was made, Anderson learned of 17 other feminist queer artists in her inner-circle that had been diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease as well.
[13] Anderson directed the book trailer for the memoir Whip Smart by Melissa Febos,[14] which won Best Short Documentary[15] at the Fetisch Film Festival 2010.
[11] The film is Anderson's vessel of exploring the epidemic of feminist artists, academics, and activists with late stage Lyme disease.