Translations: Seattle's Transgender Film Festival

May 8th - 11th, 2008

Gender Odyssey and Three Dollar Bill Cinema are proud to present the third annual Translations: Seattle's Transgender Film Festival. Translations provides the Pacific Northwest with a venue for films for, by, and about transgendered and genderqueer people.

Thursday's screening is FREE. All other screenings are $7 general admission, $6 for Three Dollar Bill Cinema members. Full festival passes are only $40 (Trannyshack club night not included.)

Advance tickets and full festival passes are available through Brown Paper Tickets. Day-of-screening tickets will be available at Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Avenue.

Thursday, May 8th, Capitol Hill Library, 425 Harvard Ave E

RE-EXAMINED & REMADE

FREE SCREENING
6:00 PM

(Clip show and discussion) Take a look at films and TV shows where transmale identities are present but not discussed or identified. Movies such as WEST SIDE STORY (1961), SET IT OFF (1996), and ALIENS (1986) contain female-bodied characters with attributes traditionally reserved for those of a different gender. Presenters Cresdan Maite and Jason Plourde will show clips from films and talk about the role these characters play. They'll also imagine what a remake of these films might be like with our current understanding of transgender people's lives and experiences.

Friday, May 9th, Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave

JUST THE FACTS

7:00 PM

(Short film program) This collection of biographies, informative films, and local stories reveals some truths about trans people.

PLAYING WITH GENDER, dir. Ashley Altadonna, 2007, 7 min.
In this re-imagined 1950’s educational film, you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about gender, gender roles, and transgender identities.

SPEED PROFILES #1-4, dirs. Breanna Anderson & Elayne Wylie, 2008, 14 min.
Meet some local folks in these four bold and breezy bios.

TWO SPIRITS: Female to Male Transgender’s Lives, dir. Nitsa Kedem-Oz, 20 min.
Three people open up and share their experience in this intimate documentary.

F TO M, dir. Sarah Claudon, 2008, 8 min.
A beautiful and unique reflection on transgenderism.

RECLAIMING THE PIECES, dir. Ethan Bach, 2008, 17 min.
Beyond just politics and anatomy, this documentary shows transgender people as multifaceted individuals who share insights on life from their unique experiences. From all backgrounds, identities, and walks of life, each has found their sense of place.

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Opening Night Feature: SHE’S A BOY I KNEW

8:45 PM

Vancouver filmmaker Gwen Haworth uses archival family footage, interviews, phone messages, and hand-drawn animation to document her gender transition. The film is not only an exploration into the filmmaker's process of transition, but also an emotionally charged account of the individual experiences and struggles of her family, best friend, and wife. At turns painful, funny, and awkward, this remarkable documentary discovers that while the nature of personal relationships may change, the love and support present can remain just as powerful, and sometimes become even stronger. FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE.

SHE’S A BOY I KNEW, dir. Gwen Haworth, 2007, 70 min.

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Saturday, May 10th, Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave

TRUE COLORS: the Life and Legacy of Alexander John Goodrum

5:00 PM

Alexander John Goodrum accomplished much in his life, despite his struggle with debilitating mental illness. TRUE COLORS provides a detailed portrait of this trans activist, as his family, partner, and friends celebrate his achievements.

TRUE COLORS: The Life and Legacy of Alexander John Goodrum, dir. Stevie Gold, 2007, 49 min.

Preceded by: STILL BLACK (excerpts), dir. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, 2008, 8 min.

View excerpts from this work-in-progress documentary that explores the lives of six black transgender men living in the United States. The film offers a complex and multi-faceted image of race, sexuality and trans identity.

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MANUELA & MANUEL

7:00 PM

Nightclub performer Manuela agrees to impersonate a man to help her best friend Coca face an unplanned pregnancy. But will pretending to be Coca’s boyfriend help either of them find happiness? Hidden identities, misunderstandings, and Manuela's pining for her own lost love create hilarious chaos in this gender-bending comedy from Puerto Rico.

MANUELA & MANUEL, dir. Raúl Marchand Sánchez, 2007, 94 min.
(in Spanish, with English subtitles)

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OUT OF THIS WORLD

9:30 PM

A collection of unusual short films that explore and question the boundaries of gender, reality, … and good taste.

TOI ET MOI, dir. Ali Cotterill, 2007, 3 min.
West Side Story meets queer hiphop in this new millennium dance-off.

EVOLUTION 4.2, dir. Ethan Bach, 2007, 5 min.
An experimental video that challenges the viewer to emotionally participate in one of the most delicate and fearful issues a transsexual may face: dating.

TRANNY MCGUYVER, dir. Vaughn Verdi, 2008, 20 min.
Who needs a clue when you can fight crime in aviator shades and six-inch stilettos?

THE FACE OF GOD, dir. Peter Pizzi, 2007, 7 min.
Upon sight of a charming young man, one tranny has a vision of heaven. Is it fate or some trade found in an alley?

CROSSING, dir. H.P. Comings, 2007, 20 min.
Transgender couple Papí and Wil explore sexual adventures that cross the boundaries of role-play, gender, and kink.

GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE, dir. Ethan Bach, 2007, 1 min.
Absurd humor used to critique the state of the nation.

TRANS-NEPTUNE, dir. Matthew Long, 2006, 14 min.
Lying in the haze of an underground Gas Den, Pandora, the last of the Drag Queen Cosmonauts, tells the tale of her journey out beyond the orbit of Neptune.

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LATE NIGHT! Trannyshack Seattle

Neumo’s, 925 E Pike Street

After the films, head over to Neumo's for the Seattle incarnation of San Francisco's hottest club night. Hosted by Heklina and Ursula Android, with DJ Baby J. Performances by Jackie Hell, Renttecca, Raya Light, Paula The Swedish Housewife, Kiddie, Ultra, Sylvia O'Stayformore, and more!

Doors at 9:30 PM, show at 11:00 PM, $10 cover

Sunday, May 11th, Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave

THE SALT MINES/THE TRANSFORMATION

5:00 PM

THE SALT MINES explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latina transwomen living on the streets of Manhattan who have made their home inside broken garbage trucks next to the salt deposits used to melt the winter snow. They support their drug addictions through prostitution, and live with a varied community of homeless people until the place is closed and sealed by the city, forcing everyone to disperse.

THE SALT MINES, dir. Carlos Aparicio & Susana Aikin, 1990, 47 min.

THE TRANSFORMATION follows Ricardo (formerly Sara) and the changes he undergoes after discovering he is HIV+ and deciding that he is not going to die on the streets. He accepts help from a group of born-again Christians who in exchange demand his complete transformation to a heterosexual man.

THE TRANSFORMATION, dir. Carlos Aparicio & Susana Aikin, 1995, 58 min.

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LOVE MAN LOVE WOMAN

7:15 PM

This documentary follows Master Luu Ngoc Duc, one of the most prominent spirit mediums in Hanoi, and his vibrant community through their rituals and everyday life. A fascinating look at how effeminate and gay men in homophobic Vietnam have traditionally found community and expression in the country’s popular Mother Goddess Religion, Dao Mau.

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20 CENTIMETERS

8:30 PM

Marieta longs to get rid of 8 inches (20 centimeters) of equipment that separates her from being the glamorous woman of her dreams. She's also narcoleptic: when she falls asleep at the most inopportune times, these dreams become lavish and colorful song and dance numbers, where she stars in performances of everything from Queen's “I Want to Break Free” to Madonna's “True Blue”. So cue up the lights and get ready, because Marieta’s dreams are about to come true!

20 CENTIMETERS, dir. Ramón Salazar, 2005, 112 min. 2005
(in Spanish, French, and English with English subtitles)

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Translations: Seattle's Transgender Film Festival is presented by Gender Odyssey and
Three Dollar Bill Cinema, with support from Frameline, TLA Releasing, and Outcast Films.

Festival Program Director — Jason Plourde
Festival Program Assistants — Raven Gildea, Elayne Wylie