Tranny Fest
As a leader in the trans communities I have often had issues with the
ideas of personal labels vs community ideals. Tranny is a word that is
used to polarize our communities to a degree that stifles imagination
and word craft. While a large potion of our community reclaims the word
as the larger LGBT communities have reclaimed queer. There is a very
vocal group of people in a small segment of our trans community that
vilify both the use and those who use the word even in empowerment. So,
it was no surprise that when I got the call about Gillian getting into
Tranny Fest and posted the event on my blog, there were people who
confronted me on the name of the festival. My own ideas around the
words use in the name of the festival are very strong. I think the use
of Tranny in the empowering way that the festival uses the word disarm
all those who would say its use is harmful. The festival itself is a
celebration of trans and queer sensibilities that transcend gender
barriers to bring us all together. The criteria for entry are simple to
articulate, only self identified trans people need apply but it
doesn't guarantee you a spot in the very small schedule. First you have
to beat out the 600 or so other entries. The wait really is a
nail-biter but well worth the stress.
Seven Day Film Fest
Our second entry to the Seven Day Film Fest hit a snag when none of
our story ideas worked with the medical theme. We sat there at the
local shawarma place in the Civic Center brainstorming into the night.
It took two days to write the script, and we had already booked the
synagogue for a filming location. We were all set and ready to go.
Until the day of filming came around and two of our actors didn't show
up. Now this wouldn't have been a problem if the schedule would have
allowed it, or even if they had called. However, neither one of the
actors called and the shoot was set back a couple of hours. A massive
rewrite on the fly and a couple of line reading later and we were set
for an adventure. Once the filming was done I had a ball editing the
dailies and two days later when we submitted the finished film all of
us had a great sense of accomplishment. Seven days from concept to
finished film is hectic and crazy, but what a ride.
