Monika Treut

One of the few women writer-producer-directors in the international film world, Treut began her career after completing doctoral work on the Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. While the theme of sadomasochism is a recurring one in her work, her cinema can be more broadly characterized as examining power relations as they relate to female sexuality. Many of Treut's films feature a dark, stylish, mise-en-scene, and complicate an already fragmented narrative style with scenes of fantasy and illusion. Her films have explored such topics as lesbianism ("Seduction: The Cruel Woman" 1985, "Virgin Machine" 1988) and cultural assimilation ("Success" 1990).