In 1997, Christopher Lee and Alex Austin launched what would turn into the world’s longest running trans film festival in the Bay Area. It was small; they called it Tranny Fest. Since those scrappy beginnings, the fest has broadened its reach and scope and changed its name. This year’s San Francisco Transgender Film Festival arrives at a precarious and pivotal time for the queer community following fierce election campaigns in which key candidates boisterously targeted and denigrated people who are trans.
Responding to a query about the issue, festival artistic director Shawna Virago emailed: “Am I surprised by the outcome of the election? No. Am I surprised about the millions of dollars spent in anti-transgender campaign ads by Trump’s team? No. Am I surprised there are millions of people who supported a racist, misogynistic, anti-trans hater for president? Hell, no! Trans people have been experiencing unprecedented levels of discrimination and violence for years now. The new administration might turn the anti-trans hatred knob up to 11, but trans and gender nonconforming people are powerful, we’ve weathered a lot already. I have faith in us. We’ll survive. But we need our cis allies to step up and have our back.”
Along with providing a haven for the queer community and its supporters, the festival also provides a breath of fresh air for LGBTQ+ representation. The well-stocked slate of shorts—a few funny, some serious and others R-rated and sexy—share equal billing with documentaries, animated tales and even horror shorts, all focusing on the lives, loves and concerns of people who are trans.
A “Locally Brewed” program kicks things off Nov. 13 with Bay Area talent in abundance. There are two ways to take part in the fest here and beyond: in person from Nov. 13-16 at the Roxie in San Francisco and online for free from Nov. 18-24. Screenings are divided into seven programs, with Program 7 intended for 18+ eyes only. For a complete rundown and tickets (sliding scale, from free to $50) visit SFTFF.org.
Here are some films we’re eager to check out. All will screen online and in person.
“En Memoria”: Roberto Fatal is one of the most exciting up-and-coming Bay Area talents. Their “Electric Homies” screenplay garnered attention and praise from various quarters. While we wait to see that film, in the meantime, check out “En Memoria,” an 11-minute narrative about a mother trying to complete her daughter’s quinceañera dress. It’s part of Program 1 at 7 p.m. Nov. 13.
“Saturn Risin9”: The Bay Area’s Jody Stillwater co-directed with Tiare Ribeaux an 11-minute documentary described as “a poetic mix of dance, visual narrative and documentary.” The duo focuses on Bay Area-born queer performance artist Saturn, who reflects on their life’s connection with environmental concerns at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. It’s in programs at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 and 9 p.m. Nov. 15.
“Ghosts Cross State Lines”: Festival director Virago’s intriguing four-minute “surrealist mystery film” is a music video from the prominent trans punk and country musical artist. You can catch it at 7 p.m. Nov. 13.
“all the words but the one”: Who couldn’t use a queer romcom right about now? This seemingly saucy one, written and directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker, actress and activist Nava Mau, will buoy the spirit. The 18-or-so minute film is about long-ago former lovers Maya and Santiago who are forced to see each other after a tumultuous breakup, at a restaurant, seated with their current partners. It sounds like sparks will fly. It screens at 9 p.m. Nov. 15.
“Trans Alchemy (Alquimia Trans)”: Trans masculine activists from all over Latin America share stories and observations in Félix Endara’s enlightening eight-minute documentary. It is in programs at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 and 7 p.m. Nov. 15.
Also notable is an upcoming East Bay screening of award-winning filmmaker Rick Goldsmith’s “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” an essential, enlightening and damning look at the clandestine activities of a New York-based hedge fund that owns Bay Area newspapers (among many) throughout the nation. Goldsmith lays out how Alden Global Capital gobbled up financially strapped newspapers and continues to suck them bone-dry for profits. The movie is a dire warning for those who value news-gathering and fact-driven reporting that holds leaders, be they in business or politics, accountable.
Heroes do emerge in the documentary. Goldsmith graciously elevates reporters including the inspiring Julie Reynolds and Pulitzer Prize co-winner Thomas Peele, who, in their accomplished careers, consistently have held public figures and others accountable. While the film’s “news” about newspapers is indeed dire, Goldsmith finds hope, focusing on nonprofit news-gathering portals that specialize in on-the-ground local news and investigative journalism.
“Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink” screens at 6:45 p.m. Nov. 19 at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland. Goldsmith and Reynolds speak with journalist-filmmaker Steve Talbot following the screening. Find tickets ($14-$16) here.
Do take advantage of additional films and events at the New Parkway, which has become an oasis for East Bay filmmakers and the Bay Area film community as movie theaters continue to close. It needs support during these financially rocky times. For details about the theater, go to thenewparkway.com.
While the 29th Berlin & Beyond Film Festival won’t happen until the spring, filmgoers can get a taste of what’s to come with the fest’s annual Autumn Showcase on Nov. 18 at the Roxie. Tickets are $10-$18 for the two-feature program; each has separate admission.
“The Glory of Life,” at 6:30 p.m., is based on Michael Kumpfmüller’s same-titled novel about the late-in-life relationship between Franz Kafka (Sabin Tambrea) and the 14-year-his-junior Dora Diamant (Henriette Confurius) he meets in 1932, the last year of his life. It’s directed by George Maas and Judith Kaufmann and was co-written by Kumpfmüller.
Natja Brunckhorst’s “Two to One,” at 8:30 p.m., boasts a cast to die for, including Sandra Hüller (from the Oscar-winning “The Zone of Interest”), Max Riemelt (Netflix’s “Sense8”) and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Phoenix”). It’s based on a true story about a 1990 heist that goes awry. (Do they ever go right?)
The National Geographic three-part docuseries “The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth” takes a critical view of 1971’s frequently referenced but recently disputed six-day psychological study in which young people were hired to act and react as if they were guards and prisoners. The results were chilling. Now, some of the participants (a few speaking out for the first time) say they considered the scales to be tipped from the start in favor of the late Philip Zimbardo and his central conceit about people’s capacity for evil when given ultimate authority. Although there’s been much written and discussed about The Stanford Experiment, including a 2015 dramatization starring Billy Crudup and Ezra Miller, perhaps leading you to bypass this new series, don’t. Director Juliette Eisner adds needed voices of participants as well as one of Zimbardo’s last interviews before he died in October in San Francisco. Episodes air starting at 8 p.m. Nov. 13 on National Geographic and stream the next day on Hulu and Disney+.
Those who want to toss back a pint, nosh on something and take in a film shot in Marin County, head to Novato’s Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant. At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13, they’ll screen the touching and award-winning indie road-trip comedy “For When You Get Lost,” starring Redwood City native and writer-actor Jennifer Sorenson, who worked there and partially shot the film there. The film also will stream on various platforms starting Nov. 15. For details, visit https://moylans.com/.
The post Pass the Remote: SF Transgender film fest, ‘Stripped for Parts,’ Berlin & Beyond preview, Stanford Prison Experiment series, ‘For When You Get Lost’ appeared first on Local News Matters.