Producer, director, and screenwriter Monika Treut is best known for her films dealing with lesbianism and sadomasochistic fantasies in particular. This innovator in gay and lesbian cinema was born in Dusseldorf, Germany and wrote her doctoral thesis on women's roles in the writings of the Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Before entering feature films in 1985 with the drama SEDUCTION: THE CRUEL WOMAN (co-directed with Elfi Mikesch), Treut worked as an avant-garde performance artist and made videos for several years. And in addition to her fictional works, Treut has also made short documentaries such as DR. PAGLIA, AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. CAMILLE PAGLIA AND MAX (1992), a dialogue with a female-to-male transsexual.