CINEMA
The Evolving Body of Trans Film
Anthology Film surveys two decades of divergent off erings
BY GARY M. KRAMER
The latest edition of Anthology
Film Archives’
program “The Cinema of
Gender Transgressions,”
“Trans Film,” is an eclectic selection
of shorts, documentaries,
and features that showcase queer,
transgender, and non-binary subjects.
The weeklong program includes
a 35-mm print of Neil Jordan’s 2005
fi lm “Breakfast on Pluto”(March
10 at 7 p.m.; March 12 at 9 p.m.),
a risky adaptation of Patrick Mc-
Cabe’s novel. Patrick/ Kitten Brogan
(Cillian Murphy) is fi rst seen
pushing a pram and giving lip to
sassy construction workers. Kitten
is brimming with self-esteem;
the rest of the fi lm shows the long,
strange road of getting there.
Orphaned as a child, Kitten’s
foster mother did not appreciate
young Patrick’s penchant for wearing
female clothing, and the masters
at the school Patrick attended
looked askance at what they saw
as outrageous antics, including
questions about gender reassignment.
Kitten leaves home to locate
Patrick’s birth mother, and in the
process fi nds herself.
Murphy gives a seductive, showstopping
performance — he looks
quite fetching decked out in leather,
feathers, lipstick, and heels —
and sports a cheeky attitude. This
is a worthwhile fi lm, a heady mix of
sex, politics, and religion, despite
some overly elaborate sweeping
camera movements and a bizarre
pair of talking birds.
“Everyday Dis/Comforts”
(March 12 at 7 p.m.; March 17 at
7:15 p.m.) is an uneven collection of
four videos from around the world.
“Video Home System” examines
censorship in Pakistan, explains
how foreign music and movies are
pirated and adapted, and how the
resulting content provides images
of both empowerment and lament.
One such example is Annie Lennox’s
song “Why,” which is heard
on the soundtrack as a man and
two young girls perform along to
the music. “Snap” is a fascinating
Cillian Murphy in Neil Jordan’s “Breakfast on Pluto,” based on the novel by Patrick McCabe.
Eileen Myles is one of fi ve female artists profi led in Chet Pancake’s “Queer Genius.”
triptych featuring queer and
trans youth in Chile. As a series
of Snapchat clips reveal episodes
from their lives, these youth are
seeing combating homophobia and
transphobia. One subject, Alexa,
records her gender reassignment
operation. This is arguably the best
fi lm in the shorts program. After
a brief introduction, “The Island
of Perpetual Tickling” documents
COURTESY OF ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
COURTESY OF ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
“ridiculously ticklish” performer
Vika Kirchenbauer being tickled
for nine straight minutes. It is a
toss-up as to who need muster the
greater endurance — Kirchenbauer
or the viewer. The last entry in the
program, “Piedad,” is a wondrous,
darkly comic, and explicitly erotic
short about sex workers performing
fellatio — and some considerably
more shocking sex acts.
One of the program’s highlights
is the 2009 Russian-language fi lm
“Maggots and Men” (March 13 at
7:30 p.m.; March 14 at 5:45 p.m.)
by trans director Cary Cronenwett.
This experimental fi lm features
what is reportedly the largest cast
of transgender actors assembled
as it tells the story of the Kronstadt
Uprising of 1921 against Russia’s
new Bolshevik government. The
narrative unfolds through letters
Stephan Petrichenko (Stormy
Henry Knight) writes to his sister,
Anya, about his life as a sailor. His
experiences, which include homoerotic
exercising and skinny dipping
as well as a romance with
fellow sailor Yuri Kilgast (Travis
Clough), soon segue into the political,
as opposition to the government
escalates into rebellion and
mutiny.
Cronenwett fi lmed “Maggots and
Men” in stylized black and white,
cross-cutting between a stage play
recounting the history and scenes
with Stephan on and off the ship.
The approach recalls Guy Maddin
crossed with gay fi lmmaker Sergei
Eisenstein. “Maggots and Men” is
playful, poetic, and polemical all
at once. Cronenwett will attend the
March 14 screening.
On March 13, “Maggots and
Men” screens with Cronenwett’s
2015 fi lm “Peace of Mind.” This
documentary is a loving profi le of
Flo McGarrell, a queer, trans, and
polyamorous friend of Conenewett’s
who died in the 2010 earthquake in
Haiti. McGarrell was the director of
a nonprofi t gallery, FOSAJ, in Jacmel,
and in the fi lm is remembered
by various folks who admired him.
There are also observations about
the challenges McGarrell faced in
fi nding respect and acceptance in
an intolerant Haitian society, but
also about the impact he nevertheless
had on the region’s art and
culture.
Director Chet Pancake will be on
hand to present “Queer Genius”
(March 14 at 7:30 p.m.; March 15
at 4:45 p.m.), a galvanizing documentary
that profi les fi ve queer fe-
➤ TRANS FILM, continued on p.27
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