Archive Talks: Trans Cinema: Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds
Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.
In person: Pre-screening talk by Laura Horak, author of Trans Cinema: Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds. Post-screening Q&A. Horak will sign copies of the book in the lobby beginning at 6 p.m. Books will be available for purchase thanks to Larry Edmunds Bookshop.
Archive Talks pairs leading historians and scholars with screenings of the moving image media that is the focus of their writing and research. Each program will begin with a special talk by the invited scholar that will introduce audiences to new insights, interpretations and contexts for the films and media being screened.
The Archive first worked with archivist and scholar Laura Horak in 2022 when we presented a series of films unearthed by Horak and her collaborators, Maggie Hennefeld and Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi. Their archival project Cinema’s First Nasty Women celebrated the work of silent comedians who brought an anarchic brand of gender non-conformity to slapstick. Alongside that work, Horak is also the director of the Transgender Media Lab at Carleton University, which created the Transgender Media Portal, a database of trans creators, including links to where their work can be seen. Suffice it to say, increasing the visibility and access to the media she studies is an essential element of Horak’s ongoing research project. With her latest book, Trans Cinema: Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds, Horak dives deep into the history, practice and aesthetics of trans artists in the United States and Canada in the 21st century while positioning them within the larger history of trans media production and representation. The Archive is pleased to welcome Horak back to the Billy Wilder Theater for a brief talk about her work followed by a selection of works by trans artists and an on-stage conversation, with more special guests to be announced soon!
A Thousand Cuts (2018)
Director B. G-Osborne’s three-channel experimental film juxtaposes scenes of trans representation from popular film and television, exposing the emotions of popular trans representation — fascination, fear, sexualization, disgust.
DCP. Director: B. G-Osborne.
Behind Every Good Man (1967)
A Black trans woman talks about what she wants from life as she shops, flirts and gets ready for a date in this groundbreaking UCLA student film.
Director: Nikolai Ursin.
For Nonna Anna (2017)
Director Luis De Filippis explores the quiet relationship between a Canadian Italian trans girl in her early 20s and her Italian grandmother.
DCP. Director: Luis De Filippis.
Her Story, season 1, episode 3 (2015-2016)
In this Emmy-nominated web series, the classic romantic comedy structure meets a trans version of The L Word.
DCP. Director: Sydney Freeland.
Just Dandy (2013)
Theo Jean Cuthand (Plains Cree) wrestles honestly with the contradictions of desire and the conundrum of wanting someone you know is bad for you in a colonial context.
DCP. Director: Theo Jean Cuthand.
I Still Believe (2015)
Stop-motion animation that explores the joy of first love and grief of breaking up in this short film by Raven Davis (Anishinaabe).
DCP. Director: Raven Davis.
Honor Black Trans Womxn! (2019)
This experimental documentary presents Black trans women and their communities fighting back against the violence they face.
DCP. Director: Seyi Adebanjo.
Feeling Reserved: Alexus' Story (2011)
Directed by Jess MacCormack and Alexus Young (Métis), this short experimental animated video documentary illuminates Young’s experience of a “starlight tour” in Saskatoon.
DCP. Directors: Jess MacCormack, Alexus Young.
We've Been Around: Lucy (2016)
Director Rhys Ernst’s documentary tells the story of a Black trans caterer and madame from the early 20th century.
DCP. Director: Rhys Ernst.
Atlantic Is a Sea of Bones (2017)
Director Tourmaline summons a haunting visitation with the spirits of Black trans ancestors via music, light, dancing and mystical scenarios.
DCP. Director: Tourmaline.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a division of UCLA Library, and presents its public programs in the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer, among other venues. For more information about the Archive, visit cinema.ucla.edu.
ATTENDING THIS PROGRAM?
Ticketing: Admission to Archive screenings at the Hammer is free. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis, limit one per visitor. Box office opens one hour before the event. Questions should be directed to the Archive at programming@cinema.ucla.edu or 310-206-8013.
Member Benefit: Subject to availability, Hammer Members can choose their preferred seats and pick up tickets for one additional guest. Members receive priority ticketing until 15 minutes before the program. Learn more about membership.
Parking: Self-parking is available under the museum. Rates are $9 for the first three hours with museum validation, and $3 for each additional 20 minutes, with a $30 daily maximum. There is a $9 flat rate after 5 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on weekends.
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