Andrea James' Shared Experiences

Outfest 2009 kicks off tomorrow! If you’re in Los Angeles, I urge you to come see the latest in LGBT film, including a number of excellent trans-themed projects.

against a trans narrative
Trans filmmaker Jules Rosskam examines how we reconcile our personal identities with our larger communities in this unique exploration of gender politics. Preceded by:
Queerer Than Thou

Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling
Candy Darling, iconic and glamorous Warhol Superstar, went from her suburban Long Island roots to star turns in Warhol Factory films and inspired Lou Reed’s song “Walk on the Wild Side.” In this in-depth tribute, Candy is immortalized in rare archival footage, while Julie Newmar, Tennessee Williams and John Waters share insights and divulge classic Candy moments. Her dearest friend Jeremiah Newton’s devotion to Candy drives this documentary, which serves as a love letter to Candy and her unrealized dreams.

Maggots and Men
An experimental narrative set in post-revolutionary Russia, MAGGOTS AND MEN recounts the 1921 Kronstadt sailor uprising with a twist of gender anarchy. Shot on Super 8 and 16mm, this theatrical homage to silent Soviet cinema fantasizes the historical – and homoerotic – relations of the all-male crew with queer and transgender actors from across the masculine spectrum. Preceded by: Martí and I

Prodigal Sons
Filmmaker Kimberly Reed returns home for her high school reunion, ready to reintroduce herself to the small town as a transgender woman and hoping for reconciliation with her long-estranged adopted brother Marc. Things are complicated by the shocking revelation that Marc may be the grandson of Orson Wells and Rita Hayworth, forcing Kim and her family to explore questions of sexual orientation, identity, severe trauma and love. Preceded by: Ready For Love

Still Black: A Portrait Of Black Transmen
In the award-winning STILL BLACK, first-time feature director Kortney Ziegler gives voice to a frequently marginalized community (even within LGBT circles) – African American transgender men. Coming off a successful screening at Fusion: The Los Angeles LGBT People of Color Film Festival, this consistently engaging film allows six men from around the country to speak for themselves about the complex experience of being black, trans and male in America today.

Straightlaced – How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up
Academy Award-winning director Debra Chasnoff crafted this powerful documentary about the lives of teens and young adults as seen through the gender lens. Approaching society’s ideas and ideals of gender through clothes, sexuality, sports, dance, safety, consumerism and emotion, the film addresses the complexities of conceptions of masculinity and femininity for Generation Z. STRAIGHTLACED is a striking and diverse film for all ages, genders and sexualities. Preceded by: State of the Movement

Two Spirits: Sexuality, Gender, and the Murder of Fred Martinez
Filmmaker Lydia Nibley explores the cultural context behind a tragic and senseless murder. Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he “bug-smashed a fag.” But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition – the “nadleeh” or “two-spirit”, who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits. Through telling Fred’s story, Nibley reminds us of the values that America’s indigenous peoples have long embraced. Preceded by: The Shoes of Aristeu (Os Sapatos de Aristeu)

Shorts programs

“Kaden Later” in Queerer Than Fiction: Documentary Shorts
“Ookie Cookie” (precedes It Came From Kuchar)
“Transliminal Criminal” in Women on the Verge
“Transproofed” in Bitches Buttholes and BFFs

Calpernia and I are scheduled to be at both screenings of Transproofed, so we hope to see you there!

http://www.outfest.org/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/Title/AZ/2009/TRANS/ALL/

Events and Appearances, Film and media news, Transproofed andrea james, calpernia addams, outfest, Transproofed

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Outfest Wednesday screening of Ma Vie En Rose! The programming director told me that’s definitely the most successful Outfest Weds we’ve had in some time.

http://www.outfest.org

Next in the series:

A FINISHED LIFE: THE GOODBYE & NO REGRETS TOUR

Wednesday, December 3, 7:30pm Rigler Theatre @ The Egyptian

Dirs. Michelle Boyaner, Barbara Green, 2007, USA, 81 min.

This powerful and moving documentary captures the journey of Gregg Gour, a 48-year-old gay man with AIDS, given six months to live, who takes the road trip of his life. HIV-positive for 24 years and unwilling to die a long and painful death, Gour decides to go off his medication. He buys an RV and travels across the United States with his dog Cody, saying final goodbyes to family and friends. Boyaner and Green capture Gour’s most personal moments, resulting in an honest and unflinching chronicle of a man’s decision to live the final chapter of his life on his own terms.

In Collaboration With GLIDE (Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality)

In recognition of WORLD AIDS DAY

and our annual tradition:

AUNTIE MAME

Wednesday, December 17, 6:30pm ABSOLUT pre-reception 8:00pm screening – Rigler Theatre @ The Egyptian

Dir. Morton DaCosta, 1958, USA, 143 min.

Outfest celebrates a 9th annual screening of this event that has become a holiday tradition, the AUNTIE MAME extravaganza! Who doesn’t know the story of America’s favorite rich (and eccentric) relative, acting as a protector to a lonely young nephew, then bravely facing the ravages of poverty, snobby stuffed shirts and romantic rivalry to emerge like a phoenix from her own ashes?  Who doesn’t know every line of this glorious camp classic? Who doesn’t want to wear those fabulous costumes? Come share the joy with fellow Mame-lovers as we celebrate the glory of beloved star Rosalind Russell and a magnificent supporting cast in this raucous, riotous movie masterpiece!

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Ma Vie En Rose plays at Outfest Wednesdays November 19 at The Egyptian in Hollywood. Absolut cocktail reception at 6:30, film at 7:30. Also: clips from Queens at Heart, the 1965 documentary about pre-Stonewall trans life, currently being restored as part of the Outfest Legacy Project.

From the Film Journal International review of Ma Vie En Rose:

For all its highly piquant subject matter, My Life in Pink (Ma Vie en Rose) is, above all, the story of a family. Director Alain Berliner and screenwriter Chris vender Stappen have created one of the most authentic, touching households ever put on film. It’s a far, welcome cry from the motley, phony convention of stars-as-blood-relations that American audiences have become accustomed to (Parenthood, Home for the Holidays). The family’s interrelations are both funny and perfectly apt. Little Ludo has a different, intimate bond with, say, his one teenage sister than his more conventional brothers. He’s naturally close to his mother and, especially, his grandmother, a real sympatico free spirit (charmingly played by Helene Vincent). If unsure about what he is, he nevertheless knows exactly what he wants and has no problem coming up with ‘scientific’ theories about his misplaced X chromosome to explain it all. He has an active fantasy life, as well, obviously, exemplified by his dream world featuring Pam and Ben, a Gallic version of Barbie and Ken dolls, who have their own resplendently tacky musical TV show. These scenes are a triumph of Veronique Melery’s and Eve Romboz’s production design and FX, saturated with psychedelic colors and doll’s-house miniatures, an enchanting, infinitesimal Oz.

Full article:

http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000698474

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Tara Mars has a nice writeup of Ma Vie En Rose, screening tonight with preview clips of Queens at Heart.

Wednesday, November 19, 6:30pm ABSOLUT pre-reception 7:30pm screening – Rigler Theatre @ The Egyptian

http://www.outfest.org/ofwed.html

I saw this film when it came out in the theaters back in 1997; I fell in love with the little boy who plays the protaganist in the film. Really great movie…

Dir. Alain Berliner, 1997, France/Belgium/UK, 88 min.Ludo is a six-year-old who was assigned as a boy at birth, but who does not identify as a boy. As a hopeful and sensitive child, Ludo truly believes that a miraculous transformation into a girl will happen someday soon. Ludo’s family begins to realize with horror that this desire to be a girl isn’t just a child’s role-playing fantasy. The situation turns into a real-life drama of intense reactions from family, neighbors, friends, and teachers, culminating in an uplifting and hopeful ending.

Plus: a sneak peek at clips of the pre-Stonewall trans documentary QUEENS AT HEART, the Outfest Legacy Project’s newest restoration project

Hosted by filmmaker/actress Andrea James who reminds you November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance (http://www.transgenderdor.org/)

http://musicfilmartculturelosangeles.blogspot.com/2008/11/ma-vie-en-rose.html

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Because things started looking like this after a while at Miss Kitty’s…

I ended up crashing at The London. You could see the smoke from the fires the next morning, and it got much worse.

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Some friends were in town, so we hung out at the rooftop pool at The London…

Then went over to Miss Kitty’s to see Calpernia’s Vict-whore-ian spectacle…

More soon.

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The Owlism exhibit opening was last night at the World of Wonder storefront gallery in Hollywood.

Never have more kitschy owl figurines and drawings been amassed in one place. It is a sight to behold.

My Flickr set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreajames/sets/72157609076148303/

worldofwonder.net/gallery/

worldofwonder.net/archives/2008/Nov/07/o_is_for_obama_owl…

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The Ma Vie En Rose screening for Outfest Wednesdays on 19 November at The Egyptian in Hollywood is shaping up to be a lovely event! I’ll be posting additional information as we get closer to the event.

I hope to see you there at 6:30! Just $10 for cocktails, a Golden Globe winning film, and clips from Queens at Heart, Outfest’s latest film restoration via the Legacy Project. Just $7 for members! This is a film that is really lovely on the big screen, with bright, bold fantasy sequences.

This is excerpted from a 1997 interview with Director Alain Berliner, written by my friend Lydia Marcus.

“My Life in Pink” (French title “Ma Vie En Rose”) shows a part of the transgendered continuum never shown before is any of those formats by showing a transgendered child – a seven year old boy who’s already convinced that he is a girl.  In the film, Ludovic (George) lives in an average upper middle class neighborhood with his parents, two older brothers and sister.  At first his parents laugh off his cross-dressing as innocent dress-up, but soon Ludovic makes it clear that he feels he is a girl and has no desire to have any male identity.  The film has heavy drama as Ludovic’s neighbors, school, and even his family grapple with what to think and do about the little boy who thinks he’s a girl, and the film also has a kitchy and campy side through fantasy sequences direct from the child’s mind where everything is Barbiesque pink and a doll named Pam comes to life.

Director Alain Berliner had never made a film before “My Life In Pink.” He had written a string of movies for French television when a friend introduced him to another writer, Chris van der Stappen about possibly working together on a script.  Sitting in his suite at the Bel Age Hotel in West Hollywood, the director from Belgium describes his confusing first meeting with van der Stappen.  “The first time I saw her I had a very strange impression – I was sure (my friend) spoke about a girl – and the first time I saw Chris, it seems to me that (she) was a boy.” Like the Ludovic in the film, Berliner says van der Stappen, “…really thinks that she (is) born in the wrong body.” Though technically still a woman, van der Sappen lives as and passes as a man and is in a relationship with another woman and they have two children.  van der Stappen had already written the first draft of “My Life in Pink” before she met Berliner, and together they co-wrote the final draft.  Berliner says any doubts he ever had about the accuracy of whether or not a 7 year old boy could feel as though he was truly a girl were quickly dispelled by van der Stappen and stories of her own childhood.  He explains, “It was really helpful for some point in the movie, by example, about the strong conviction of Ludovic of what he is.  Sometimes I said, ‘Are you sure that a little kid like that can really be so sure?’ And she said, ‘Yes, I’m sure from the very, very, very beginning of my life.’ So discussing with her and working with her was really helpful to create something very current about the main character.”

Despite being eleven years old, Berliner was able to cast Georges Du Fresne as seven year old Ludovic.  Even seeing Du Fresne in person now, he’s probably still sleight enough physically to carry off a much younger role.  Berliner says he wasn’t looking for a feminine boy, but one that could “Look like an angel.” Wearing makeup and dresses and telling his best friend that he wants to marry him when they grow up, little Du Fresne certainly is sweetly angelic in the film.

With Berliner interpreting his French, Du Fresne revealed that he based a lot of his female qualities on his own twin sister Camille.  If Du Fresne ever had an anxiety about how his friends would react to his role in the film, Berliner says it quickly faded when he realized, “what a great part Ludovic is for an actor.” Also, Berliner says in Du Fresne’s making the movie, “It’s a strange thing but, gives him kind of respectability in the eyes of the other because now they’re impressed, ‘Wow you made a movie, you’ve been to Cannes, you’re on TV, people ask you things.’ So there a few of them were still jealous of it so they said, ‘He he he, you’re just a little faggot.’ But he don’t care.  And the fact is, George isn’t like Ludovic, I mean he’s a boy who thinks he’s a boy and he don’t have any girlfriend or something like that for the moment, but I think that probably will happen (laughs) because he’s arriving at that age.”

So far “My Life In Pink” has done well critically and commercially, it just was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and Berliner was awarded the Golden Camera Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.  And in France, it was a cross-over hit, playing in both art houses and mainstream theaters.

Berliner hopes his film promotes tolerance and understanding of people who fall outside the norm when it comes to gender identity.  Du Fresne echoes that too by saying that he hopes that people will understand a little bit more because of the movie.  Berliner says there can be several readings of what will happen to Ludovic or people like him when they grow up.  “If you’re an adult and you’re gay, a lot of people (see the film) and they told me, ‘It’s my story,’ yes, but it can also be the story of an adult who’s straight now but who wanted to explore the other side of (their) personality – the feminine side or the masculine side.  And it means that it can be kind of phases, during six months, three months, two years, but one day it passed and it’s done and suddenly the guy or the girl says, ‘I’m a boy,’ or ‘I’m a girl,’ and everything’s okay.  The meaning of the movie from my point of view really depends on what you are when you’re an adult, but when you’re a child it’s very difficult because nothing is already set, you see it’s still open.” Girls have been able to dress and act like boys for ages because it’s societally acceptable to be a “tomboy.” Because of “My Life In Pink” and the trials and tribulations of a sweet little “boy” named Ludovic, perhaps a lot more parents will see like Berliner that their son’s futures are “still open,” and let their little boys follow their hearts, even if that means picking up dolls instead of a trucks and donning dresses instead of pants.

Ma Vie En Rose event on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=46554105852

Queens at Heart page on Outfest:

http://www.outfest.org/legacy/queens_at_heart.html

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Above: Samantha’s inspiring speech about pushing for more LGBT-themed media, especially with a family focus. Her lovely wife and daughters were all in attendance.

Congratulations to my friend Samantha Sprecher for 2008 Ten Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz from Power UP!

More info:

http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?id=20843&section=67

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From Wabash College:

‘shOUT (Wabash College gay and Straight Alliance Club), has invited Andrea James to give a talk at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 29. Her talk, “Identity, Gender, and Sexuality: Experiences from the Past Looking Into the Future” will take place in Korb Classroom in the Fine Arts Center.

James is a Wabash alumnus, class of 1989. While at Wabash she majored in English, Latin, and Greek. James received her masters from University of Chicago in English Language and Literature. She is the co-founder of Deep Stealth Productions, which focuses on issues related to gender. The organization also works to provide accurate and positive portrayals of transgendered people. She has appeared in many Hollywood productions such as Transamerica, Casting Pearls, Middle Sexes, and has also directed various films such as Coming Out and Becoming You. She is a strong activist for transgendered rights.

Her talk is free and open to the public.

http://www.wabash.edu/news/displaystory.cfm?news_ID=6330

If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!

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