THE DIRECTOR: Kerri OKane says she found inspiration in the
Gits music (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)  In the summer
of 1993, everything seemed to be going the Gits' way. Bypassed
in the initial wave of interest in Seattle's grunge bands, the
punk quartet was close to signing with a major label and had
begun recording its second album. But on July 7, after leaving
friends at a local bar, the Gits' singer, Mia Zapata, was raped
and murdered, her body dumped on the street. Within days, the
Gits were national news for the worst imaginable reason.  Zapata
was famous, not as a singer, but as a victim.  Fifteen years
later, director Kerri O'Kane wants to change that with a
documentary, "The Gits," which will screen in venues across the
country today, including the Echoplex in Silverlake, with an
introduction by O'Kane and Gits drummer Steve Moriarty. The film
deals with Zapata's murder, its devastating effects on her band
mates and the Seattle music scene and the agonizing decade until
her killer was found.