Dissatisfaction with the “bourgeois” aspects of the gay rights movement and macho behaviour in the 1980s punk scene led to the rise of queercore: the verbal marriage of queer and hardcore. Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution documents the development of this anarchist, alternative punk/gay culture. Various aspects of the queercore movement are covered – film makers such as Bruce LaBruce, G.B. Jones and John Waters, as well as members of Pansy Division, Team Dresch and Bikini Kill, are among those interviewed about their experiences with this experimental rebellion.

Queer film maker Yony Leyser, currently residing in Germany, was born in the USA in 1984 and grew up there, becoming a diehard fan of punk culture along the way. He created his own fanzines, based on those from the 1980s. In an era when the internet and social media were still on the distant horizon, homemade fanzines played a major role as medium in spreading the word. In this regard, the documentary is truly testament to the fact that such a degree of depth in details and in covering various events is only possible when created by an expert on the queercore movement. Many of the opinions voiced in the documentary emphasise the revolutionary drive of this subculture, which had more in mind than simple acceptance by the rest of society: its overthrow was the ultimate aim for some.

Using archive material and clips from films and gigs, Leyser has created a portrait in film of a controversial and revolutionary scene. The documentary is considered to be a major contribution to the historiography of punk rock and the queer movement.